Overheat
by Kuugen the Fox
Summary: Gamindustri is ravaged by the all-out war between Lastation, Planeptune, Leanbox and Lowee. Open animosity between nations, research into deadly and outlawed weapons, each of the four super powers has to always take it still one step further to triumph over their enemies. In a world like that, love is a rare thing to find and even rarer between enemies. And yet it exists.
1. Delete All: Friendship

**Overheat**

_Execute: 1100100_

**Delete All: Friendship**

"Wake up." Ice cold water was splashed on her face. The shock woke her instantly and got her blood pumping. Spending the last week in a dark, isolated room, tied to a wall that was spiked with diluted anti-crystals, had taken it's toll on her psyche and body. Her lips were ruptured, her throat was dry and her eyes was blood-shot. Prisoners had no rights in a war like this. For six months had she led the troops at the front lines, fighting enemies that might have been her friends at one time.

A war that didn't differentiate between adult or child, former friend or foe. An all-out struggle for dominance over all the shares. Six months ago, the four goddesses that ruled over the four dominant nations of the world came together, agreeing that further military struggle for shares would be counter productive. The ceremony of Grand Fealty, uniting the lands under an non-aggression pact.

Nobody knew who the true perpetrator was behind the act that destroyed all hope for peace. Minutes before the execution of the oath each goddess had to swear, urgent news of armed forces attacking the capital of each nation under the banner of another nation reached their ears. Accusations escalated quickly into arguments and finally ended in an all-out fight between four enraged goddesses, each of them suspecting the other three of conspiring against her.

The following battle burned the neutral town of Metas to the ground, costing tens of thousands of people their lives. Unable to reconcile, the nations went to war. Borders were closed, trade relations were abandoned. The world was at war with itself.

Each of the four powers couldn't outmatch the other three. Battles were fought, territories were lost and gained, countless lives were lost and yet a stalemate was inevitably reached each time. Until the battle of Kanomi roughly a week ago. Leanbox had attacked a metropolis a short distance south of Lastation's capital that shared it's nation's titular name. The fight was largely in favor of Leanbox due to their newly developed phase rifle technology. When victory for Leanbox seemed all but inevitable and Black Heart, the goddess and ruler of Lastation, took to arms and personally ravaged the battlefield. Her desperation was met by Green Heart, Leanbox ruler and goddess, who was capable of keeping Black Heart occupied while her troops continued to flood into the city.

It was a third force that not only ended the fight but also delivered a devastating blow to both Leanbox and Lastation at the same time. A chemical agent, poison gas that caused devastating internal bleeding and dissolving of vital organs, was spread thorough the entire city. Suicide agents from Planeptune had infiltrated the metropolis and detonated large containers of the chemical agent. Within minutes, both armies received orders to retreat. Trying to assist her troops with extraction from the battlefield, Green Heart was ambushed. A large troop that was seemingly trapped and in danger of being hit by the still spreading poison gas were actually elite soldier of Planeptune, laying a trap for the goddess of Leanbox. Using anti-crystal layered nets and binds, they captured Green Heart, unbeknownst to her own forces.

For the past week, she, Green Heart, had endured torture and questioning beyond anything she could imagine. Unable to transform, Vert was reaching her limits. If something didn't happen soon, she would not only die but all of Leanbox would fall prey to Planeptune's ploy.

Facing the same interrogator as the days before, she knew what was coming. Her body reminded her just all too well of it. Despite the brutality of the torture, they had avoided permanently scarring her. Vert suspected that after all of it was over, the broken shell that would remain was to be Purple Heart's plaything. She would rather die than end up like that.

But that day, Vert noticed something else, a second person that kept herself to the shadows of the possibly underground cell, yet, Vert recognized her. "Come to see the fruits of your labor, Nepgear?"

Vert's head was brutally flung to the side when the fist of the interrogator hit. A trickle of blood started to run from her forehead and mouth. "You talk when you're asked and only then, scum!" A little more, and she might have broken Vert's jaw.

"Stand back. I will talk to her." Nepgear had changed. After the war had begun, her sister had not returned to being Neptune even once. She had been Purple Heart all this time. The times and the situation forced her little sister to change as well. Nepgear had, just as her sister, not once transformed back. Purple Heart and Purple Sister were their sole known persona now.

Standing in front of Vert, Nepgear felt nothing but contempt for the ruler of Leanbox. Countless people had lost their lives in the war between Leanbox and Lastation and she was one of the two people responsible for it. Ramming her foot into Vert's stomach, the blonde gasped for air in pain and coughed up blood for several seconds before recovering. "To fall for such an obvious trap. You're not fit to rule a country, Vert."

"I never thought I'd see you fall so low as to use chemical weapons, Nepgear." Vert knew that whatever she said wouldn't change her situation. If she made her oppressor angry enough, at least she could find a quick death.

Pulling Vert up by her hair, Purple Sister plunged her fingernails into Vert's right shoulder, leaving deep and bloody holes behind. "Don't bother. I'm not going to kill you. Even if you don't talk, my sister gave me direct orders not to scar you. But I'm sure she won't mind a few small ones." Increasing the pressure on her fingernails, Vert cried out in terror. Just as the pain was about to make her pass out, Nepgear spit in her face and let her go, slowly turning around. "Has she talked at all up to now?"

Vert was barely conscious, her vision shrouded in mist from the intense pain. She couldn't tell what they were talking about as all what she could do was hang on to her consciousness.

"She is more stubborn than I expected. Neptune won't be pleased with this. Fine then, continue to interrogate her and avoid scarring her. She might not talk at all, but she will make a great toy with that body of hers. I will-" Nepgear was disrupted when the ground shook so violently that part of the ceiling came down, killing the interrogator instantly. "What is going on?"

The outside was complete chaos. Vert had been held at a top secret facility for political prisoners and that very fact had been leaked. Large armored vehicles on both the ground and in the sky were approaching the base from several directions. Troops were gunned down by the superior firepower without mercy. "I can't let them have Vert." Using a single punch to the stomach to knock Vert unconscious, Nepgear unlocked the chains, pulling Vert up and carrying her away.

She got as far as the emergency exit, when she ran straight into a trap. "White Heart!" Nepgear saw herself slightly outclassed right away. Even for her sister, an one versus one fight against the ruler of Lowee was more than just risky. But what was she doing here? Leading an attack on a base deep in Planeptune's territory was just asking for Lastation to attack Lowee! Was it possible the people of Lowee didn't even know what was happening?

"Hand her over. I ain't asking a second time you sorry excuse for a goddess candidate!" Blanc's motive was all but pure. Holding the ruler of another nation was a great political asset. It was unfortunate that of all the goddesses, the one she hated most, Vert, had gotten herself captured and was thus up for grabs, but she wasn't too picky about her methods. Alternatively, she could take Purple Sister hostage and put extreme pressure on Planeptune and Purple Heart that way.

She couldn't hand Vert over, she was too valuable. And getting captured herself was completely unacceptable. Neptune would rather see her dead than become a prisoner to one of the other nations. Pointing her gunblade at Vert's head, Nepgear took a step back. "You're here for **her**." It wasn't a question but a calculated observation. There was no other reason to attack an outpost like this. "Move even one step and I blast her brain out."

"You fucking numbskull, did you think I didn't expect you to pull something shitty like this?!" Yelling at Nepgear, Blanc remained exactly on her position. "Do it, you stinkin' lot!" Yelling her orders, Nepgear felt a sensation that was uncomfortable and painful beyond reason. Her transformation was forcibly undone but she couldn't understand how or why. She couldn't see any anti-crystal around her.

It became clear when something lifted her up and then smashed against the solid wall. "Optical... optical camouflage? Damn you... I should have seen... that coming."

"Take that bitch away. And pick up the big boobed garbage on the ground! We're leavin' this shit hole! But first, kill everyone! Let not a single of those fuckers out of here alive!"

Several female voices replied at the same time. "Understood!"

"Fucking Vert, making me come all the way out here. I should freaking kill her right here and now!" White Heart's personality had become even more violent than before the war. Her normal form was unaffected, unlike Planeptune's Purple Heart.

Raising high into the air, Blanc prepared for a heavy low orbital magic strike. Unlike Lastation, Lowee didn't have any satellites in orbit, but they didn't need to. Technology was diverse. Arriving at roughly two thousand meters height, Blanc stopped, invoking the gathering. Each of the armored vehicles on the ground deployed a large cannon, all of them directly aimed at Blanc.

"Sammlung!" Raising her ax above her head, the cannons on the ground simultaneously started charging. "Ausführen!"

The cannons colored the sky in white energy, rapidly approaching White Heart. Her weapon worked like a lightning rod for the destructive blasts. "Now get the hell outta here before I blast all of ya to hell!" Not that anyone could actually hear her yelling that far up.

Amassing even the last remains of the energy, Blanc focused it into into her ax. It was weaponry at the very peak of Lowee's technology. The more armored vehicles she could tap into, the more destructive her ultimate technique would become. The power of the masses. The glowing white light that spelled doom for all that were close to the outpost was radiating in the sky. Even dozens of kilometers away at Planeptune, the titular capital of the nation, Purple Heart could see it. And she didn't need to guess what exactly it was.

"Atomare Vernichtung!" As if she was moving a mountain with sheer force, Blanc swung her ax downwards until it was pointing straight down. A beam that was over thirty meters in diameter erupted from her weapon, slowly descending onto the outpost that had served as prison for many officials from other nations, among them even the very leader of Leanbox, Green Heart.

The attack itself was as destructive as several tons of explosive. The building evaporated at impact, the ground liquified, plant life was scorched until nothing but charred, lifeless shells remained. The attack itself was powerful but the true damage behind it was invisible.

To create a lasting warning that all would heed, Lowee had developed weapons of mass destruction that created enough radiation fallout to contaminate the area for years to come. Only the goddess of Lowee, White Heart, was both immune and capable of removing the Blithering Death, a type of radiation that had been brought into existence by their weapons research.

Floating above the smoking crater, Blanc could tell with just a glance that nothing but her would be capable of existing within a ten kilometer radius for more than a dozen years from now on. "Time to get home and see what I can get out of that bitch, Vert."

=== Overheat ===

"Lowee did?" While inferior in terms of raw numbers, Lastation had the upper hand in the information war. Any kind of advanced technological attack was met with an even more advanced counter attack. "For Blanc to have developed such a horrifying weapon... What is Planeptune doing?" Noire was looking over the results she had requested from her analysts.

"We have intercepted communication that states Purple Sister was present when the attack went down. Supposedly, the ruler of Leanbox, Green Heart, was the target of the attack. It is unclear whether termination or rescue was the primary goal." A masked soldier was reporting to her goddess.

"Knowing Blanc, both are equally likely. She despises Vert for her body. Jealousy is such an ugly thing. Has Planeptune moved since?" Opening a direct connection to the analytical department, Noire sent all the new info there.

"They have sent armored scouts to the scene. Our satellite surveillance has shown them to be dying within minutes after reaching a specific threshold of 9,670 meters surrounding the estimated center of the blast. The causality rate is 100%."

"What is the state of Leanbox? After this affair, surely they can no longer hold up the pretense of Green Heart simply not showing her face in public but still ruling." Noire stood up and walked to a window that let her look towards the south-west. "First poison gas, now weapons of mass destruction."

"The oracle of Leanbox, Chika Hakozaki, is the current interim ruler of Leanbox. They announced this shortly after the info leak that Green Heart had been a prisoner of Planeptune for the past days. They have also employed the services of the special ops group Red Ring."

"I see, Cave has joined hands with them. I expected them to eventually join as they originated in Leanbox in the first place. Anything else?"

"That's all."

"Good work. You may go."

Waiting for the soldier to leave, Noire transformed. It was important to keep up appearances in times like these. Opening a maximum security channel to a top secret branch of her weapons research department, a branch that not even Uni knew about, Noire input has password and waited for the other side to do the same. A young woman with a four-colored, square shaped hair clip showed up on the screen. "Progress report." No names, no identification, no details.

"80%. We are finalizing the energy consumption and renewing details." Several dozen schematics popped up on Noire's main display, showcasing the fruits of Lastation's best and brightest. "No matter what kind of weapon the other nation's throw at us, nothing will be able to harm Lastation with this, Lady Black Heart."

"You are all doing well but I must hurry you. Lowee has employed weapons of mass destruction against Planeptune. It is a matter of time until we're their next target."

"We will do our best." Knowing that there was nothing else to be said, the connection was lost and all traces of it ever having happened were being erased by extremely delicate security protocols.

The land of black regality would not kneel before any other. And once the threat of the other nations was resolved, it was a race of technology to see who would emerge the victor. Noire was certain that no other nation could match her scientists pride, skill and intelligence.

The large double winged doors that were the entrance to Black Heart's room opened briefly. "Noire." Only very few people had the necessary privileges to open those. There was no risk of infiltration via that route.

"Uni? How did it go?"

Black Sister, Uni, was Noire's second in command and in charge of the first artillery unit. She was also the only one in Lastation that enjoyed the full and unchallenged trust of her sister. "The mission failed. Leanbox knew we were coming and ambushed us. I managed to keep the causalities to 36 people but we had to retreat."

"Then the mission was a success. I had suspicions that we have a mole here in Lastation and the fact that your details were leaked to Leanbox confirms it." Walking up to her sister and hugging her, Noire apologized. "I'm sorry for not telling you about this beforehand, but you needed to think it was a real mission. Dangerous times call for tough decisions."

Uni was slightly uncomfortable with Noire lying to her, but she understood the necessity of it. "There is a lot of unrest among the people. Did something happen while I was on the mission?" Separating from her sister, Uni walked over to one of the chairs and sat down.

"Lowee used a weapon of mass destruction against Planeptune. There is also a high chance they took Green Heart and Purple Sister hostage."

"Nepgear?" Jumping up, her expression turned very serious almost instantly.

"Don't even think about it, Uni. I know about your infatuation with Nepgear. She is the enemy, you know that."

"I'm capable of keeping my feelings separate from my duties and you know that!" Uni rarely raised her voice against her sister. The war had forced her to grow up fast. A lot faster than she would ever have. And it had made her more like her sister than she wanted to admit.

"Can you kill her if it comes down to it? What if she is holding her gun to my head? Could you shoot her?"

"Its not fair to ask me that, Noire."

"I know. But war isn't fair. I could never handle losing you. And I don't think Nepgear thinks of you as anything but an enemy."

"This is all the war's fault..." Uni hated the fighting. She knew that the chance for peace had come and gone and that by now, there was not a single way left to reconcile. Lowee had used weapons of mass destruction. Planeptune had used chemical weapons. There was no way to tell what Leanbox had still up their sleeve.

"Even if we goddesses reconciled in some way, the people won't forget the countless dead and their losses. This war will only end when only one nation remains standing. When Lastation remains as the sole survivor."

"Genocide should never be the only solution, Noire..."

"Soon we will be able to shut ourselves off from the rest of the world. But even then, people won't forget. With the weapons they have developed, Lowee and Planeptune are on the direct path to destroying each other." Noire walked over to the same window as before. "If there was another way, I would take it."

=== Overheat ===

"Radiation contamination? That Blanc isn't as stupid as I thought. Any word from my sister?" Purple Heart stood on a balcony, towering high above even the skyscrapers of Planeptune, the capital of the equally called nation.

"There hasn't been any. Due to the lack of survivors and our insufficient technology to withstand the radiation poisoning, we are unable to approach the site of the impact to look for clues."

"Cease operations towards the site. They must have set that weapon off knowing we would try to look into it. It's merely a fool's trap to dwindle our numbers. Order the third special operations squad to get ready for deployment within the day. Lowee will learn the hard way that Planeptune is the one and only nation fit to rule this planet."

Purple Heart's eyes were like frozen ponds, staring at the distant Lowee with nothing but indifference. It was just one of three obstacles that stood between her and peace. She had tried her hardest to bring about peace with diplomacy once. As that had failed and war forced it's way into the hearts of the other three goddesses, Neptune was given the choice. To shoulder the weight of surpassing the others rule or to surrender. Neutrality was not an option Planeptune could chose. Nor was diplomacy.

Fighting in this war had changed her drastically. Locking away her carefree attitude and way of life, Purple Heart had become all she was. The powerful and unrelenting ruler of Planeptune, the sole savior of it's people. It wasn't she, Neptune, who was becoming a monster, but Purple Heart, a someone that was now only a means to an end. Once the war was won, she would relinquish her duties as goddess.

No matter what means she had to use, she would emerge victorious. She didn't despise any of the other goddesses and nations. They were not lands full of people but merely obstacles she had to overcome in some way. She had planned to destroy Lastation first, before they became a bigger problem than they already were. But with Nepgear captured, she had to change her plans. She needed her, a valuable asset to her campaign.

Opening a direct line to the research laboratory from where she stood, a display floating in mid-air, Purple Heart saw face with the chief researcher of the project. "How is the reconstruction coming?"

"We're still trying to piece together the exact sequence of DNA. It is proving more difficult than expected, given that this is no ordinary human we're talking about."

"Hurry up. Once we've achieved completion on this, there is nothing the other nations can do to stop us."

"Lady Purple Heart, some of the researchers are starting to have safety concerns regarding the sharicite upon completed reconstruction. There are no precedents for something like this, so-" The researcher almost bit his tongue when Purple Heart glared at him. "I understand. I will tell them that their concern is unfounded." The connection was closed and the display disappeared.

"Histoire. Are you certain that there will be no dominance contesting after reconstruction is complete?" Turning around, Neptune looked at the fairy being that served as Planeptune's oracle.

"In the technology itself, there is no problem. There is no accounting for personality however. Even I don't know the full effect of the project."

"We will see. I trust you to erase her from existence under my direct order as goddess of Planeptune if she runs out of control." There was no way she would go through with a plan as risky as that without having some foolproof contingency plan.

"Yes. I have already registered the deletion process. I pray we won't need to utilize it."

"So do I. If you will excuse me, I have a war to fight and a nation to subdue." Turning around and walking towards the balcony handrail, Purple Heart jumped over it, taking the fastest way to the ground.

=== Overheat === 

"How many times do I need to fucking tell you two?! You're not allowed to participate in the war and that is that! End of the damn discussion!" Yelling at Ram and Rom, the White Sisters, Blanc rubbed her forehead. She couldn't let them be tainted by the cruelty and horrors of the war. After she had united the nations, someone that wasn't corrupted by death and suffering of millions would need to take over. Ram and Rom were ideal for that.

Running off, the twins were loudly complaining and shouting childish insults at her sister. They knew that a war was raging in the outside world, but they had been confined to the castle and it's grounds. Blanc had gone as far as placing indestructible wristbands on each of them, the insides diluted with anti-crystal. It could never hurt them, but it would prevent them from transforming.

Opening a communication window, Blanc gave quick orders to the prison guard. "Bring the Leanbox prisoner up to my chamber." Calming down, her violent and rude streak was taking over too often lately. She didn't want things to escalate when she questioned Vert. Lowee wasn't as crude and barbaric as Planeptune, and no matter how much she personally held a grudge against Vert, she wouldn't stoop as low as torturing her.

Briefly leaving her room, she addressed the guard detail. "Do not enter my room after the prisoner has been brought up. No matter the reason, nobody is allowed to enter, especially not Ram and Rom."

"Understood." The guard saluted. Each of them was armed with a full-automatic rifle and special bullets made from anti-crystal contaminated iron for use against enemy goddesses and candidates only.

Waiting in her room, Blanc wondered how exactly Vert had gotten captured and how long she had been a prisoner. The most obvious opportunity would have been when Planeptune first used their poison gas to decimate the forces of Lastation and Leanbox during the fight for Kanomi. That would put her time in prison at roughly a week. The physical and psychological stress must have been high but she couldn't afford to pity the leader of an enemy nation.

Her door opened and Vert was pushed in, conscious but tied up with anti-crystal handcuffs. To Blanc, she was still a prisoner. Her gaze towards Blanc was not as hate or spiteful as the ruler of Lowee had expected. "Sit with me. You must be hungry after a week of imprisonment."

"You know better than to think you can buy my cooperation, Blanc. So why are you doing this?" Vert couldn't believe she had ended up in Lowee of all places. Blanc despised her, she knew that. She just didn't know why. Getting up and walking over to the long table, Vert stood in front of it, hands tied in front of her.

"Because Lowee is not Planeptune. We treat our prisoners like people, no matter who they are. And even prisoners don't deserve to die from starvation. I won't undo your cuffs, so you'll have to manage this way."

"Why am I not dead? I know you hate me and Leanbox. It's unnatural for you to rescue me."

"Things change. I don't like you, but that by itself is insignificant to the danger Planeptune and Lastation pose to my nation. You were there. You saw the devastation Planeptune caused with their chemical weapons first hand."

"That still doesn't explain why I'm here. With me gone, Leanbox is much more vulnerable. Lastation and Planeptune are much more likely to attack there and leave their back wide open."

"You seem awfully intent on dying. Now sit the fuck down and eat some of the goddamn food!" Taking a deep breath after shouting, Blanc stood up and walked aimlessly around for a bit.

Vert didn't want to take orders from Blanc, but the food looked too appetizing to ignore. She hadn't eaten anything in several days, only barely kept fed with water and some kind of nutritious but disgusting goo. Sitting down, it was difficult to use a knife and a fork with her hands chained but she managed. She paused, just before putting a piece of meat into her mouth.

"It's not poisoned. I told you, Lowee doesn't stoop as low as Planeptune." Blanc was slightly irritated just looking at Vert.

"The war changed you, Blanc." Vert hadn't met face to face with who she had for a long time deemed her arch enemy for a long time. "To think you would offer me food."

"What did you tell Planeptune?" Blanc was concerned that Planeptune might take over Leanbox and become a much bigger threat than before.

"Nothing of value whatsoever. They tortured me and tried various truth serums, but a goddess physiology is different than that of a normal human." She didn't divulge that she had come extremely close to cracking under the torment she had experienced. If Blanc hadn't attacked the outpost, surely she would have told them everything, eventually.

"It is difficult to obtain information regarding Leanbox due to Planeptune and Lastation being between us."

"You might treat me to food but that doesn't mean I will thank you with information on how to conquer my nation." Vert was still eating, knowing that if she angered Blanc, it might be some time before she would be able to get her hands on food again.

"Even if you don't talk, keeping you locked up will weaken Leanbox. You might even be useful as a bargaining chip with Lastation." She didn't reveal that Purple Sister was in her possession as well. Black Sister would offer a great deal of information, surely, to obtain her lover in one piece.

"The narrow way you think about things hasn't changed, Blanc."

"Is this where you make me an offer to save your big ass? If not you should watch your fucking mouth!" Raising her voice again, the door opened ever so slightly. "Didn't I fucking tell you not to disturb me?! Get out of here you shitty piece of dogoo!" The door was slammed shut immediately. Blanc was fuming with anger already.

"You've been talking about Lastation and Planeptune a lot. They're also the enemies I, and Leanbox, are primarily concerned with."

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting? Because you can forget that. I'm not letting you leave Lowee."

"Don't you know the saying _The enemy of my enemy is my friend, _Blanc? We could profit greatly from each other."

"I was never able to tell what you were really plotting. I can smell you stabbing me in the back within minutes of me agreeing to some kind of truce."

Vert was getting desperate. She couldn't help but think that Blanc was denying even the possibility of it working out to their collective advantage because she still hated her. "Fine. Tell me what I would need to do to make you agree to an alliance with Leanbox until both Planeptune and Lastation are destroyed?"

Blanc started laughing loudly the second Vert had said the word alliance. "You and me, working together? That's rich! The people would turn against me and you! Nobody profits from that!" Looking at Vert, Blanc calmed down a few seconds later, returning to her normal attitude. "I can't think of anything that would make me trust you."

Vert wanted to save her people, even if it meant feeding her pride and self-respect to the dogs. Looking away from Blanc, Vert could think of something that would make Blanc trust her. She just couldn't get herself to say it.

"It seems you're done talking. I've heard enough for now. When you decide to talk, call for a guard and he will bring you to me." Blanc was finished with Vert for now. She was sick of looking at her. Walking towards the door, she stopped when Vert virtually jumped up and knocked her chair over.

"If... if you ally with Leanbox, I'll... I'll become sworn to be your aide." Vert knew that there was no taking back such an oath. It was binding, no matter who took it, human, goddess or candidate. It was an unbreakable spell that forced absolute loyalty upon the one swearing it.

"Not enough." Blanc didn't care much for Vert's opinion but she was enjoying seeing her so desperate.

"What more could you possible want from me?!" Shouting at Blanc, Vert's breathing was going faster. She didn't want to be stuck in prison indefinitely until she died. And the oath of fealty was the only thing she could think of and she had offered that.

"Give me Leanbox." Blanc smiled at the distraught expression on Vert's face. A devilish smile played around her lips as she realized an even better offer. "I have a better idea. I will take **you**."

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Vert couldn't follow Blanc's logic anymore.

"It does. If the goddess of Leanbox is the lover and betrothed of the goddess of Lowee, that will not only let me control Leanbox but also control you. Of course, you'll also have to swear the oath of fealty towards me." Blanc's face didn't give away how amused she was by the visible horror on Vert's face. She knew the girl wouldn't agree to it, and she counted on that, but it was fun to see her despair over thinking about it.

Waiting a few seconds and enjoying herself, Blanc turned around and walked past to the door, leaving Vert behind, despairing and shivering with anger. Opening the door wide, she called for her guards. "Take her to the cell. See to it that she isn't hurt. I will personally behead anyone who decreases her value as a hostage."

Two guards, taller than Vert, marched into the room, grabbing the ruler of Leanbox by her arms, pulling her away. They were just passing Blanc when Vert suddenly resisted. "Don't make them use force, Vert. They're under orders to not hurt you, but they will if they have to."

"I'll do it."

"It's your problem if you get hurt. My soldiers follow my orders but they take their job very seriously."

"No. I'll do it."

Blanc couldn't quite make sense of **what** Vert was gonna do. Sighing, she nodded towards the door, a sign for the guards to take her away. Turning around and heading to her table, she heard noises of Vert resisting again.

"I'll do all of that. I'll... become yours. But I have one condition."

Blanc first thought she didn't hear right. "What?"

"I'll... give you Leanbox... I'll be your betrothed... I'll swear the oath. If... if you promise to let my interim ruler govern Leanbox civil operations. You can have control over the military." It had taken all of her determination to say those words. Throwing away all the pride and dignity she had to protect her people and their lifestyle, she sold herself to Blanc.

"Don't be stupid. I only said those things to screw with you. Take her away."

"Blanc!" Vert could be heard shouting the name of Lowee's goddess all the way to the prison cells far below the castle.

"Me? Being betrothed to Vert?" Blanc remained silent for a few seconds as she unwillingly contemplated the outcome. She wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but that Vert was actually willing had left an impression.

=== Overheat ===

"I see, Lowee has taken Lady Green Heart hostage. Strengthen our defenses towards Planeptune, we don't know what they have learned. We need to be prepared for an eventual attack." Taking on Vert's duties, Chika was all but comfortable leaving her goddess at the enemy's mercy. But what choice did she have? Lowee was on the other end of the continent and going through Planeptune or Lastation territory with anything larger than a handful of well armed soldiers was completely impossible. And as a high profile political prisoner, Vert was surely kept very close to Lowee's goddess, White Heart.

Fighting White Heart was not the issue. Leanbox was the only nation that could effectively kill all goddess and their candidates with ease. Shortly after Green Heart had vanished, they had finalized their research into the cultivation of artificial anti-crystal and put it to use as a weapon. Special assault units, each trained to assassinate a specific goddess or candidate. Leanbox didn't hold weapons of mass destruction like Planeptune or Lowee and lacked the technological power of Lastation. But none of those things mattered if they could destroy the leaders of the enemy nations. Their leader gone, the nations would fall apart.

Just as Chika contemplated her next move, a soldier came running into the room, completely out of breath. "What is wrong? Why aren't you using a secure communication line?"

"I was... ordered to not speak to anyone but... you. We have captured primary objective six!"

Chika immediately stopped everything she was doing and grabbed the soldier by her shoulder. "When? Where is she now?"

"She was captured during a scouting routine near our border. She was with a troop of Planeptune soldiers that our unit ambushed and eradicated before capturing PO6. She is being brought to research laboratory three as we speak."

Letting the soldier go, Chika left in a hurry, heading towards laboratory three. The anti-crystal research had brought something interesting with it. While anti-crystal were used to disrupt and seal a goddess power, if the atomic structure was altered in a specific way, it was possible to store absorbed goddess power and forcibly infuse it into normal humans to make them temporarily into a pseudo goddess.

Primary Objective Six, Yellow Heart. A goddess that didn't rule over any nation and was affiliated with Planeptune for unknown reasons. Capturing her was vital for the success of the artificial goddess program. Entering the laboratory, she could already see the target. Her human form was that of a little kid, no more than possibly eight or ten years old. Her goddess form was drastically different, and that form was the only one Chika was interested in.

She knew that it was possible to forcibly cause a transformation but it would damage the host. There was no way to tell yet if that damage was permanent or not. Even if it was, most of it was limited to mental damage and they didn't need her to function as a human being. Only as an energy source for the project.

Two grown women were forcing the little girl onto a structure that was designed to hold both her human and goddess form. Rings of artificial anti-crystal were attached to the machine, ready to suppress any and all action from the goddess once she was transformed.

"Is the project ready?" Chika wanted to create her temporary army of goddesses as soon as possible. The sooner she could destroy Planeptune, the sooner she could force Lowee to give up Vert in exchange for being spared destruction.

"We're about to run the first few test runs. Starting forceful activation of goddess transformation in ten..."

Chika could see the terror in the little girl's face. She had been gagged to prevent her biting her tongue and she couldn't understand a word of what the girl was seemingly screaming. As the scientist said zero, a syringe extended from the structure's innards and injected the girl with a liquid.

The one way to forcefully cause the transformation was to induce an artificial sensation of impeding death. The body and psyche would react to protect the life of the goddess and transform them, no matter what. However, it was incredibly painful physically and putting enormous amounts of psychological stress on the subject's mind. The little girl's eyes were wide open with horror and Chika's expression changed slightly when a dark spot grew bigger and bigger between her legs. The girl was so scared that she had wet herself. It took several more seconds of psychological nightmare until the transformation kicked in. The goddess lost consciousness due to the forced activation just as she changed.

"Activate the crystals." What the forced activation lacked in physical pain, the artificial anti-crystals more than covered. They were less powerful than real anti-crystal and didn't break the transformation but absorbed just as much of their life energy. It was an completely inhumane experiment and Chika knew that. But they all had their burden to carry. Leanbox couldn't afford the luxury of high standards with Planeptune and Lastation at their borders.

"Watch her vitals. It'll be a huge loss if she dies. Try to fill as many pseudo CPU crystals as possible." Seeing that the experiment was a success so far, Chika didn't want to keep watching. She knew exactly what was happening so she wasn't running away from the pain and horrors she inflicted on a child. She just had other things to attend to.

=== Overheat ===

Vert had lost all feeling for what time it was. She wasn't too cold, wrapped in two blankets, but she cursed herself for falling for Blanc's trap. Giving up all her dignity and pride just to be laughed at had hurt. Unable to sleep with her hands cuffed like that, she wasn't sure what to do next.

She couldn't feed Blanc information about Leanbox and it was pretty much impossible to escape from a high security prison while unable to use her goddess powers. The guards would put her down immediately if she tried to fight her way out as normal human.

"Vert." Looking up, the ruler of Leanbox could barely make out some white outside the dark of her cell.

"Haven't you humiliated me enough, Blanc? What more do you want?"

"You would give up yourself and your country to protect your people?"

"I said I would and you laughed at me. What of it?"

"Prove it to me."

"I can't exactly swear the oath of fealty while in prison and handcuffed with anti-crystal."

"Spend the night with me. If you're serious about becoming my betrothed, I will hear you out."

"So I have to become your lover just to have you hear me out? No guarantee you're not gonna throw me back into prison regardless after?"

"Do I seem like that kind of person to you?"

"You didn't use to."

"I'm only telling you one more time. Prove to me you can become my lover and I will hear you out."

Vert bit her lip. How humiliating was that! Selling herself like a whore just to make a serious plea for her people? Hitting the mat she was sitting on, Vert opened her mouth and closed it again. Looking to the ground, she gave up. She had already lost all respect for herself. "I'll do it."

Blanc waited for a few seconds to see if she wouldn't change her mind. She had long since realized that she was jealous of Vert's body. If she couldn't be like Vert herself, she could still own her. When Vert didn't move or say anything else, Blanc took a single key out of her pocket and opened the cell. "Get up."

Getting up and leaving her blankets behind, Vert felt worse than as if she was going to her own execution. She was contemplating if having died back then at Nepgear's hand would've been a better end than becoming Blanc's plaything.

Ascending a lot of stairs, silently following Blanc, Vert didn't want to think about what kind of tortuous things Blanc would do to her to amuse herself. She couldn't imagine even for a second that she was genuinely interested in her _love_. It all seemed like another elaborate ploy to humiliate her again.

Entering Blanc's room, Vert was surprised to find literally nobody there. It wasn't cold either. One of the scenarios she had imagined was Blanc sitting there, forcing her to strip and stand naked in the cold. But the ruler of Lowee didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

Going past her work place, Blanc stopped in front of her large bed and started to undress. "You can start undressing." Having stripped down to nothing at all, Blanc felt suddenly very embarrassed. Getting into her bed ahead of Vert, she looked at the still fully clothed girl. "Vert, undress."

Undressing the best she could with the handcuffs hindering her, Vert eventually managed to stand in front of Blanc's bed, completely naked. She still suspected some kind of scheme, some kind of setup that was designed to ridicule her.

"There is no need to be suspicious." Her attitude reminded Vert a lot of the days before the war. Polite if a bit stoic. Could there really be no trick? Cautiously getting on the bed, Vert didn't quite know what to do next. "Just lay down and let me rest my head on your breasts."

Doing what Blanc asked of her, Vert was surprised to find her old adversary quietly and calmly resting against her chest. Laying on her side, Blanc's head face first resting against her chest, the taller girl felt somewhat relieved. There really seemed to be no catch or trick.

Looking at Blanc's thin neck, she almost wondered if she could use the situation to kill the goddess of Lowee. But seeing the satisfied and peaceful look on the usually so easy to anger girl, she couldn't bring herself to continue thinking it.

"Why did you change your mind?" Vert wanted to know what prompted Blanc to come and get her.

"Do you know why I always hated you?" Blanc had only her right eye open, her voice calm and composed. "I was always jealous of the way you look. I wanted to be like that myself but some things you just can't have." Moving her right leg between Vert's legs, Blanc enjoyed the silky smooth skin of hers. "Making you my lover is the next best thing. If you're mine, nobody else can have you and that is enough to quench my jealousy."

Vert didn't say anything until Blanc laid both of her arms around her waist. She had never slept with anyone, despite Leanbox' oracle, Chika, making many advances on her towards that end. "It probably doesn't mean anything to you **now** but I never thought you weren't beautiful the way you are."

"You're right, it hardly means anything. You're still the goddess of an enemy nation and I'm still the one holding you prisoner." Letting go of Vert, Blanc moved up slightly, coming face to face with the taller girl. "Why throw away your pride, self-respect and dignity like this?"

"A goddess is nothing without her people. And if protecting my people means becoming just another plaything for you, then that is what I have to do."

"It was painful to say those words, wasn't it?"

"You're not going to tell me you're sorry for making me do it, are you?"

"No. Right now, I'm not even sure if this was a good idea or not."

Bending forward, Vert's breasts pushed against Blanc's much smaller ones. Their faces were so close to each other that Vert could feel Blanc's breath on her skin. "If you had asked me to go out with you a long time ago, we might have ended up in this very same situation."

"Don't cling to what-if scenarios and the past, Vert. It is unseemly." Laying her hand on Vert's left cheek, Blanc kissed her old enemy, her lips just a little colder than Vert's, a faint taste she couldn't quite place flowing from Vert's lips to her own. Her heart beat a little faster as she pursued the unknown sensation and moved in, traces of passion appearing in the kiss. Feeling Vert's large breasts on her own turned her own just a little at the same time. A hair thin line of saliva reached from Blanc's lips to Vert's when the brunette moved away. Just looking into Vert's eyes, Blanc's determination wavered for a moment. She knew there could be no true peace between the nations anymore, but for just a second, she wanted to have Vert desire her without forcing her to.

But it only lasted for a moment. Blanc knew that she had a responsibility as a goddess to her people and even though Vert was selling herself to her, at best she could invade Leanbox and make it part of Lowee's territory. But it was out of the question to ever let Vert return to being a goddess and freely rule over her people and the nation. It was too big of a risk.

"I'm going to sleep." It had been a very long day. She needed some rest to think things over. Turning her back to Vert, Blanc backed up until she could feel Vert's body touching her own. "You won't have to spend tomorrow in prison, but you will be confined to this room and outside my working area."

Vert couldn't make sense of what was going on in Blanc's head. But for now, she had to play the role of her lover. Eventually, somehow, she would find a way to escape.

=== Overheat ===

Waking up to the bright rays of the sun as it rose far to the east of Lowee, Vert first noticed the pain around her wrists. Sleeping with handcuffs was all but comfortable. Blanc was already gone from the bed, despite how early it was. Noticing clicking from a near table, Vert found her captor to be having breakfast while working via laptop.

"How did you sleep?" Blanc was, that early in the day, still composed and reliably so.

"My wrists are killing me."

"The guard should be here soon. It is unpleasant to keep treating you like a prisoner when you're supposed to be my lover." Taking a sip of coffee, Blanc knew that a long day was ahead of her. Planeptune surely wouldn't sit still and let the humiliation that Lowee had inflicted rest.

"What am I supposed to do while you work?" For now, she had to play the role of the cooperative prisoner. The more Blanc would trust her, the easier it would be to get out when the time came.

"My library will be accessible to you as soon as the guards have changed your chains." Blanc looked up and towards the bed where Vert was, covering herself with a blanket due to a lack of clothes. "You won't be able to transform or go near any places that are of military importance, Vert."

She expected that much. It would've been too easy if she was able to actually spy on Blanc while being her prisoner. Getting up, unable to carry the large and heavy blanket with her, Vert picked up her clothes but had trouble getting some of it on. She wasn't looking forward to the guards seeing her in such a miserable situation.

Just thinking that, three loud knocks announced the presence of said guards but the door didn't open. Getting up, Blanc assumed her goddess form and headed to the door herself. Opening it, the guard simply stood there, slightly confused that she was being received by the goddess herself. "Hand the stupid thing over already!" White Heart was, even early in the morning, quite foul mouthed.

Slamming the door shut after receiving several pieces of metal, Blanc returned to normal, extremely uncomfortable handling the _accessories___in her goddess form. "These are specially made restraining devices for goddesses and candidates." Walking over to Vert, she nodded towards the bed. "Please sit."

Vert was looking for an opportunity to turn those binds on Blanc but she knew nothing about how they worked. It was too big a risk to simply try and overwhelm Blanc with physical power while they were both in human form. The instant Blanc became White Heart, she didn't have a snowball in hell's chance to survive. Sitting down on the bed, partially naked, she waited for Blanc.

"Put your hair up. I don't want it caught below the choker." Waiting for Vert to follow her order, Blanc left four of the five rings on the bed. Only specifically authorized people were able to activate and deactivate the anti-crystal effect on them. The only ones in all of Lowee that had authorization that high was White Heart and the White Sisters as well as their corresponding human forms.

Putting the choker around Vert's throat, it made a quiet humming noise for a few seconds and became silent after. The next two devices Blanc took were clearly anklets. Kneeling down in front of the bed, she hesitated a moment. "You have beautiful legs. I never noticed that before."

Vert remained silent while Blanc put the anklets on. They repeated the same activation process as the choker before falling silent. The final two pieces were bracelets Putting them on, Blanc noticed that the tall girl's wrists were hurt more than she expected. As soon as all five pieces were in place, she pulled another key, similar to the one from the night before, from her pocket, unlocking the handcuffs. "When I'm not here to look over you, four guards will accompany you." There was no animosity in Blanc's voice. "You're free to use my personal bathroom, library and bedroom, but you're prohibited from going anywhere else and leaving through that door." Blanc knew that she was taking a risk. The guards she had picked to look over Vert were hand selected and sworn to secrecy. There were too many uncertainties about treating the ruler of Leanbox like her lover when it came to public opinion.

As soon as Blanc turned around, finally freeing Vert of the embarrassing state of being stared at while she was partially naked, the blonde got dressed, putting on the remainder of her clothes. "Are you going to attack Planeptune again?" She was probing for information. If Lowee attacked Planeptune or Lastation, it meant either of those nations was too busy handling Blanc to consider attacking Leanbox.

"You don't need to know that." Blanc was still troubled by her own decision. She felt no longer jealous of Vert, considering that she practically owned her now, but she was an enormous security risk, even with the anti-crystal restraining devices. Worse than all of that, Blanc was wondering if she wasn't fooling herself, only making herself think that making Vert her lover got rid of her jealousy. Sitting down at the same table as earlier, Blanc resumed working, not without those doubts gnawing at the back of her mind.

=== Overheat ===

After three forceful transformations, Yellow Heart's vitals had reached critical levels, forcing the scientists to suspend the collection of energy temporarily. The girl had long since lost consciousness and was hanging lifeless in the structure. Using injections to both stabilize the condition of the subject and force her to heal faster, the scientists felt no remorse. What they did they did for the welfare of their country, even if it meant endlessly torturing a little girl for power.

Arriving in the laboratory while two scientists administered agent that were supposed to help with the healing, the oracle of Leanbox was in an excellent mood. With the progress of the artificial goddess project, Planeptune and Lastation both ceased to appear threatening. No matter what kind of weaponry they had, they would crumble before Leanbox's power. "How many crystals have you harvested?"

"Enough for three squads. We're hoping that once the subject becomes used to the regeneration process, we'll be able to increase production."

"Start phase three of the project. We need to be aware of what side effects using the power crystals will bring." There was still much they had to test. The exact extent of the power a soldier would received from a power crystal and the side effects. There was no time to research the long-term effects of it. The other nations were surely up to something as well, Chika was sure of that. Ruling Leanbox in Vert's absence had been quite a daunting task. Most of all, Vert didn't have a sister, so there was no true interim ruler. As oracle, she didn't have the combat prowess to replace Vert.

A single soldier was waiting for Chika outside the laboratory. "Oracle." Many simply used her title to address her.

"What are the news on Planeptune and Lastation?" Handling military matters was something she had still trouble getting used to. She was no tactician after all.

"Lastation is quiet as usual. Planeptune is showing suspiciously high activity in their capital but our spies are unable to confirm anything specific. Whatever it is they're working on, it is a highly classified project."

"Planeptune is dangerous, but I'm more worried about Lastation. It isn't like her to just sit back and wait to be attacked."

"Her?"

"Black Heart, you idiot. The goddess of Lastation. She is normally much more aggressive than this. There is something weird going on in Lastation."

"I will see to it that we increase our number of spies."

"No. Lastation is highly secretive about it's technology. Simply sending more spies will do nothing but jeopardize our own plans when they get captured." Chika fell deep in thought for a while. "Leak this information to Lastation via remote channels. _We have obtained primary target. Infiltration into LS successful. Awaiting orders for extraction._"

"Understood."

Returning to what used to be Vert's room and working place, Chika was desperate to get spies into Lowee. She needed to know if the information regarding Vert being a prisoner there was accurate and how she was being treated. Few knew of it but Chika was insanely in love with Vert, to the point of obsession. If Planeptune or Lowee had damaged her chastity, she would use the full extent of Leanbox's power to destroy them.

=== Overheat ===

"You will not report to anyone but directly to me. This includes my sister. I won't tolerate any mistakes." Closing the connection, Noire felt slightly guilty about hiding a project from Uni, but it was something she certainly wouldn't agree with. The UMD aside, Lastation had another ace up it's sleeve. Something that could turn the tide of the war easily.

She was still wary of Planeptune. If they stooped as low as to use chemical warfare without warning, they would not stop at anything to win the war. It was a big problem that Uni refused to let go of her infatuation with Purple Sister. Thankfully, their extremely different fighting styles had not let them collide on the battlefield until now. But Uni was pushing to be deployed to the front lines more often.

It was difficult to keep her in check. After the war had started, she had grown more confident, more stubborn and headstrong. With the information that Lowee had captured both Vert and Nepgear, Uni had been constantly pressing to attack Lowee. Leaving their back wide open towards Leanbox was something Lastation couldn't afford.

"Noire." Thinking of the devil.

"What happened to morning training, Uni?" Noire couldn't handle everything herself these days. It was physically impossible. Having Uni oversee the troops training in the morning was one of the duties she had handed over.

"They just finished." Walking past her sister and sitting at Noire's table, Uni sat down. "The troops are worried, Noire. Planeptune is using chemical weapons, Lowee is using radiation and Leanbox has been too quiet as of late. Everyone is on edge."

"The UMD will be finished within days, Uni. As soon as the prototype has passed it's final exam, I will announce it to the public."

"We can't win the war by hiding behind the UMD, Noire."

"I make the decisions, not you. I know you want to attack Lowee because Nepgear is supposedly there, but it might be a trap. I cannot risk losing you or giving Leanbox a chance to invade again. Kanomi has still not recovered from Planeptune's attack a week ago."

Feeling insulted, Uni grit her teeth and swallowed her words. No matter what she said to her sister now, she wouldn't change her mind. Not saying a word, Uni got up and marched out of the room, visibly angered.

But Noire had other worries than to care for her little sister's moods. She had never admitted it to anyone, but a long time ago, she had carried feelings for Neptune. The carefree airhead that was more often than not acting quite stupid. But what had become of her, the Purple Heart that sanctioned a poison gas suicide attack on a metropolis, was no more than a monster that had to be taken down.

Continuing to work on tactics and damage control, Noire was interrupted again only thirty minutes later. One of her most trusted subordinates was reporting to her via a high priority communication line. "What is it? You're disrupting my work."

"Black Sister left the Lastation capital borders just now. As per your orders, I am reporting this."

"Which direction is she heading?"

"Towards Platina, just short of the Lowee border."

Slamming her hands on her keyboard, Noire jumped up. "Order all troops to stop her! I approve the use of anti-crystal devices if she or her squad should initiate open hostilities with our own forces!" She couldn't let Uni attack Lowee all on her own, it was far too risky.

"At once." The line closed instantly. Transforming into Black Heart, Noire bit her thumbnail. Uni had disobeyed a direct order, she couldn't let that go, not even if she was her sister. "I'm going out. Call Kei and explain the situation to her!" Ordering her guards, Noire walked out to the balcony and flew off, heading after her sister.

=== End of Line ===


	2. Run: Frozen Feelings

**Overheat**

_Execute: 1101110_

**Run: Frozen Feelings**

Breathing hard, Uni grit her teeth, trying to stop herself from bleeding out. Running away without any kind of plan had come back to bite her. Before she knew what was happening, Uni had found herself in the middle of Lowee and Planeptune troops, both forces targeting the same small village. Her troops had been decimated within seconds. It was common sense that capturing a goddess or candidate took a higher priority than taking a small village. But neither side had brought anti-crystal weaponry or capture devices with them. And still they had brought enough fire and manpower to nearly take her down.

Able to escape the battle when her sister showed up, rushing to her defense, both Lowee and Planeptune found themselves outmatched, facing a goddess after already having lost more than a third of their troops to the candidate.

The hole in her right arm was starting to become a very serious problem. If she didn't find a way to stop the bleeding soon, she would die. Up until now, she had always fought under her sister's orders and guidance. A front line battle without any preparation and fighting two sides at once had been way too much for her. A biting throwback to a time before the war, when she had felt inadequate and useless at times.

Pushing herself forward, Uni's vision was starting to blur. It only took one more step before she was forced out of her goddess mode. The snow beneath her boots creaked with every step. Having lost her entire personal unit, she was not only experiencing physical pain. No matter how strong a goddess candidate she was, she wasn't invincible. Staggering forward, Uni's legs gave in before her willpower did.

Crashing face first into the shallow snow, the white mass around her arm was slowly being colored red. To make matters even worse, she thought she had heard the howls of monsters. Thinking about it, she realized that the border regions weren't protected very well by the goddess' powers so it made sense for monsters to be there. With the goddesses being busy just keeping the other nations from invading, there was little time to take care of monsters.

The howling got louder. She could move or see. Was that how it would end? Being eaten by monsters after running away to find Nepgear? "Nepgear..." Imagining the girl she loved, the bright smile, the purple hair... her... voice... "Nepgear..." It was her biggest regret of all the things the war had brought. "Nep..."

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Neptune." Floating high in the air, far over the troops that were caught in a pincer attack, Planeptune troops to both sides, Noire found herself facing someone she barely recognized.

"What a coincidence, finding you where the stench of loss is the strongest. Did you perhaps misplace something important?" Purple Heart knew that Noire was chasing after her sister. During the battle with Uni, Planeptune troops had relayed information regarding her presence, causing Planeptune's goddess to go out by herself. A fight between goddesses was as dangerous as any weapon of mass destruction.

"I know you don't have her. This is Lastation's land, I have the advantage. I'm giving you this one chance to get out of here in unharmed." It wasn't entirely a bluff. A goddess was at their strongest the closer they were to their capital.

"Did you forget who the most powerful goddess around here is?" An arrogant grin dominated Purple Heart's face, knowing that no matter where, she could take on Black Heart. Killing her was different, but she would not lose to her anywhere.

"I warned you." Raising her sword above her head, Noire activated the prototype what would be Lastation's trump card soon. "Deploy: UMD!" Within a second, dozens of rays shot through the atmosphere, hitting not the enemy but the forces of Lastation, creating energy based shields around their entire body. Noire herself received increased protection, six variable layers of protection with another, improved, core layer working like a skin tight barrier. A sphere made up of fist sized hexagons.

Within seconds did the tide of the battle far below them turn. Ranged fire, melee weapons, nothing could penetrate the full body protection Lastation's troops received. Planeptune was taking massive losses quickly.

"That doesn't scare me at all! All I have to do is smash it to pieces!" Raising her sword and launching an attack, Purple Heart's weapon impacted on the first barrier with such force that it created a shock wave similar to a sonic boom.

Noire wouldn't stand back and let Purple Heart attack her. Retaliating, the two goddesses crossed blades. Black Heart was inferior to her enemy in almost every aspect. However, her defense was impenetrable. Completely discarding her defense, Noire adopted a purely offensive style, wildly slashing at Purple Heart, who was actually being forced back.

"Awfully cocky you're getting, just because you're being protected by your silly little toy." Dodging the next slash, Neptune tried to put a bit of distance between herself and Black Heart, flying upwards at maximum speed.

Following her trail, Noire realized that all her non-defensive capabilities were slightly weakened while under the effect of UMD. Likely a small problem with the prototype. Falling behind more and more with every second, Black Heart made use of a new technique she had developed. "Asura Persecution!" Forcing her own energy through her weapon, Noire created sixteen physical copies in front of herself. Sending them flying after Purple Heart, she regretted not training more in long range combat.

Deflecting the first four blades with clean and pinpoint slashes, Neptune rapidly noticed that despite deflection, the blades kept following her after they corrected their course. Ascending further into the air, she started to rotate around her own axis. "Dynamic Blaster!" Unleashing innumerable energy spheres, she fired not against Black Heart but the weapons. Confirming her suspicions, they weren't as durable as the real thing, ashes and fragments raining past Black Heart as she rushed through the smokescreen the destroyed blades had created.

Passing it, she had run straight into a trap. "Titan Edge!" Using her power to enlarge her sword to twenty times it's normal size, Neptune assumed that no matter how perfect Noire's defense was, shock waves and other non-corporeal means would still work fine. The impact was like that of a baseball being hit by a bat at the absolute maximum power.

Breaking the barrier of sound, Black Heart was smashed into the ground in less than five seconds, falling over three thousand meters before hitting the ground. The explosion and shock wave of the impact worked only partially the way Neptune had planned. Two of the six outer layers had faded out but there was not a single scratch on Black Heart herself.

"Lady Black Heart! A massive deployment of Lowee is approaching from the north! White Heart is leading them. We have to retreat!" One of the soldiers was shouting while throwing his blade and piercing the throat of a Planeptune soldier.

Noire had less than minimal info on Blanc's radiation ability, so she didn't want to risk a three way battle. Uni being in danger or not, she could not put all of Lastation and her life in danger right now. It was painful, but she had her duties as goddess. "Retreat!" Yelling her order, other soldiers repeated, slowly retreating towards the south. No matter how strong Purple Heart was, after having lost almost all of her men, she wouldn't risk a battle with Lowee and their goddess.

About to pursue the retreating Lastation troops, Neptune looked towards the north. She couldn't risk dealing with Blanc's insanity yet. Not until the P project was completed and combat ready. There were no more than a few handful of her soldiers left and they won't be able to escape in time. She couldn't risk information about Planeptune leaking. Looking down, Neptune's eyes turned completely cold. "Dynamic Blaster!" Launching the attack against her own troops down on the ground, Purple Heart continued to fire until nothing moved anymore.

Flying off on her own, the first scouts of Lowee were about to hit the battlefield, only going to find death and destruction.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"I need results. If you can't produce them, you're useless!" Shouting at her chief scientist of the fake goddess program, Chika looked at the testing room. The walls were covered in gore. A dozen soldiers had become live subjects in the program. Infusing the goddess power directly into their bodies had caused the first four to have their internal organs explode with the force of a grenade. Trying to control the rate at which the energy was relayed to the soldier, a device was used that they to suppress the flow from the power crystal, without success. The soldiers, while no longer explode, lost their mind within seconds, turning into violent berserkers that attacked everything within sight, even themselves.

Since then, the scientists had started looking for another way. "If you can't find a way to keep them sane, find me a way to infuse them in the middle of the battlefield." Berserkers were still useful if they could be dropped in the middle of the enemy. They had access to diluted goddess powers that way even though the usage was highly random. But she had to take what she could get.

"Oracle, there is a high priority report from Red Ring." A single soldier, acting as messenger for information that could not be relayed via communication lines, reported to Chika.

"Tell her to meet me in the goddess quarters." Not slowing down a bit, she walked right past the soldier. Opening a communication line to a girl that acted as her secretary, she still didn't slow down. "Tell me you have found 5pb."

5pb, real name Lyrica, one of her most useful spies, Cave, leader of the special ops group Red Ring, and Chika, the oracle of Leanbox, went way back as friends. When the war hit, Chika worked closely with Vert to keep Leanbox effective and intact while Cave supported her goddess on the front lines and behind the scenes. 5pb on the other hand had at first no useful role. Using contacts and under orders of Vert, she established herself as distanced from Leanbox and a neutral entity, one of the extremely few that were capable of traveling freely between countries. That was made only possible with Vert's support and knowledge of the idol business.

Which was exactly what Lyrica was doing now. A career as idol while spying for Leanbox in the other nations. That was, until this morning, when she missed her regular check in and raised a red flag in Leanbox center of communications.

"Not yet. Her schedule states that she is a visitor to Lastation's capital city, but we're unable to reach her."

"I can't even make a diplomatic inquiry because she is no longer considered a citizen of Leanbox... shit. Keep looking. Hack into Lastation's COC if necessary!"

"Oracle, that's imposs-" The line was cut by Chika, who had no tolerance for subordinates that called something impossible. She knew very well that Lastation was now second to none in terms of technology. They had ears and eyes everywhere, like a spy state. They lacked physical manpower and weaponry in exchange. And despite that, they were plenty dangerous.

Reaching Vert's quarters, Cave was already there, wearing her signature white and red outfit. Her red hair and strategies had prompted the unit to take on a new name, changing from SMD to Red Ring. "How are things, Chika?" Cave was one of the few people that Chika let use her first name freely.

"Horrible. What have you been doing? You were supposed to infiltrate Arcadia and destroy Planeptune's fourth communication hub. What happened to that?"

"Lowee had the same idea. They had a squad of agents in there, using their new optical camouflage to go around unseen. Before we knew it, both of our groups were trying to get into the hub facility and a firefight broke out. We won, with only two causalities, but Planeptune security forces were on to us by then so we had to pull out."

"Nothing is going as planned in this war." Chika really wished Vert was back. Not only was she feeling incredibly lonely without her but it was also affecting their level of strategy. She was trying her best but as Oracle, it wasn't really her job. Cave was excellent at following orders and getting results but she made for a poor leader.

"We brought you a consolation prize, though." Putting both her index finger and thumb to her mouth, Cave let out an ear piercing whistle.

Two of Cave's elite soldiers immediately entered the room, a prisoner in-between them, tied up thoroughly and securely. "We found her scurrying around at the border on our way back." The first soldier stepped aside while the latter brutally kicked the back of the prisoner. The characteristic blue hair, the red scarf as well as the black clothes made it very obvious who it was.

"What's her name again? I don't care much about flat chested kids."

Gagged, the blue haired girl tried to respond quite wildly, throwing her head wildly, desperately trying to break the binds she was tied up with.

"Nisa. Self-proclaimed enemy of the big war, always allying with whoever is being attacked. She's a good fighter, but too stubborn to listen to orders."

"Use her as test subject for the project. If she can't follow orders, she isn't useful. And I'm not going to let her get out of here alive and possibly ally with Lastation or Planeptune when we attack them."

"Chika, do you think that's wise? We could try to turn her. Give me a week-"

"A week? Do you know what a week without Lady Vert feels like to me? It's like a year in prison!"

"Stop your obsession with Vert and get a grip! You're in charge of Leanbox, not just your private desires!" Cave wasn't afraid of Chika, despite the huge gap between their social standings.

"Take her. Do what you want. If you're done and flatty here-" This prompted another violent reaction from Nisa. Having enough of being interrupted, Cave nodded to the guard behind the prisoner, forcing her on her knees. With a single well-aimed kick to her head, Cave shut the blue haired girl up. "Don't kill her if you can't turn her, we can still use her as test subject."

"Will do. Relay me our next orders later, I have given the girls off for today." Looking at the only two of her subordinates that were still with her, she nodded to them. "Go and have fun in the town. Relax, detox, you know the drill. I'll take the blue kiddy." Picking up Nisa, Cave nonchalantly patted her flat chest. "It really is completely flat." Feeling her ass afterward, she seemed impressed. "But her butt is great."

"Get out of my sight before I tell you to get a room." Chika wasn't interested in the least in what Cave would do to the girl. She had her ways and means to do things.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"We have satellite footage of Uni entering the Lowee border region. After that, the UMD program access overloaded the surveillance protocols, resulting in nothing but snow for the full duration of the execution."

"Fix it. We can't have surveillance going down when we use it. How is the decryption of the files we pulled from Planeptune's mainframe while they were busy monitoring the battle earlier?"

"There is a possibility we might not be able to decrypt it at all. The protection on it is so sophisticated that there is likely a DNA sampler at Planeptune that substitutes a computer generated password. We're trying our hardest, but so far we're coming up empty."

"Keep trying. You, what is the status on hacking into Lowee's own surveillance system? I need to know where Uni is."

"Working on it. ETA is one hour."

"Do it in thirty minutes." She had to give up on pursuing Uni during the battle because of Neptune and Blanc, but she hadn't given up and she never would. "Status report on the UMD."

"The prototype was active for 682 seconds total before it was manually terminated by you, Lady Black Heart. During the activation, it achieved 88% effectiveness and used 131% of the estimated energy."

"Within margin of error. Send the data to our engineers and have them launch a drone to make the adjustments. Give a copy to our programming department to have them compensate as well. That is all."

Closing several connections at once, Black Heart leaned back and turned into her human form. It was incredibly tiring to manage all the important things on her own. Without Uni around, she couldn't trust anyone else enough to help her with those duties.

Getting up and walking towards her bed, she stopped at a small cupboard, a small, framed, picture standing on top of it. It showed Noire and Neptune, arm in arm, the former embarrassed and looking away, the latter happy go lucky. Despite how annoying Neptune could be, she never truly hated her. Even when they were competing for shares with military power, it had never been war like now.

But there was no way back. The only path to peace was to defeat all the other nations and make Lastation the sole land of Gamindustri. Noire didn't believe that any of the other nations and rulers had the skill and endurance to reliably rule a territory, so she had to do it herself.

Deep down, even though she wanted to defeat Planeptune, she didn't want to kill Neptune and Nepgear. It was a pipe dream, she knew that, but Noire wanted to have both of them join her in Lastation, live their lives with her, together. Uni would be with her loved Nepgear and maybe she could... with Neptune...

"What am I thinking?" Shaking her head, Noire put the frame on it's face, not wanting to see it anymore.

Falling onto her bed, Noire was sick of the war. There had been periods of struggle before, but nothing that came even close to what was happening now. If things didn't start to look better soon, she might have to resume **that** project and she didn't want to have to stoop that low. She was better than that.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Vert had spent most of the morning by herself, not counting her guards. Thankfully, they were not too intrusive, mostly staying in the corner of the room. They refused to talk to her unless she made a direct inquiry whether something was allowed or not. Reading through some of Blanc's books, she dearly missed her own collection of manga and doujinshi. And most of all, her gaming.

Ruling Leanbox during war time had not left her any free time at all, even with Chika helping out. And now that she had more free time than ever before, she was bored out of her mind. Memorizing the layouts of the rooms and possible escape ways had turned out to be of fairly minimal use. Blanc's room was high up in a tower. The only ways down were jumping, and landing on cold, hard, stone, and the elevator, which was heavily guarded. Judging by what she could witness from the window, Lowee had by far the largest military of the four nations. She couldn't really say anything about the quality of the troops themselves or their equipment, but at least her guards had exceptional discipline and would not hesitate to shoot and put her down if necessary.

Blanc had left earlier that day, without warning, after receiving a seemingly important message. Extremely few people were allowed into her private chambers, and only those knew that Blanc was harboring the goddess of Leanbox.

Instead of taking the regular entrance, Blanc came in through the balcony, still in goddess form. "What a fucking waste of time." Noticing Vert on her bed, she glared towards her. "The fuck are you looking at, boobzilla?"

Wanting to speak up, she held herself back. Pissing off Blanc at this point wasn't healthy. Lowering her head and looking at the ground, Vert continued to just sit there, playing the loyal pet. It took only a few more seconds before Blanc turned back, significantly calming down. Adjusting her hat slightly, she sat at the table for a few minutes, thinking, before looking at Vert again. "Could you serve tea?" The change in attitude between her two forms had always been like day and night but it had become even more pronounced with the war. "Everything you need is in the second shelf to the right next to my bed."

Finding everything where the short goddess said, Vert wondered how long she would remain a captive. Blanc hadn't made her swear the oath of fealty yet, which meant that she still hadn't decided on whether to keep her around or not. Right now, she should focus on pleasing Blanc to ensure her own survival.

While Vert was making tea, Blanc waved one of her guards over. "Has she made any suspicious moves?" Blanc's voice was incredibly faint, no more than a whisper.

"None at all, Lady Blanc. She inquired several times where you had gone and when you would return in your absence." The guard replied in the same manner.

Nodding, Blanc let the guard return to her post. She still wasn't sure if letting Vert out of prison was a good decision. It had been a spur of the moment thing. If she couldn't **be** like Vert, physically, she wanted to **have** her at the least. But the situation at hand was grossly different. All she did was to take Vert's freedom and force the blonde to be at her side.

Blanc was taken from her world of thoughts when Vert sat down across the table, cups and pot on the table. "Were you very bored?" Her blue eyes were focused completely on Vert's face. If she lied, Blanc would know.

"I made do with the library. Your choice of books is... unique." Pouring tea for the both of them, Vert hated herself for playing along with a charade like this. She was supposed to the proud and powerful ruler of Leanbox, not Blanc's talking doll.

"Guards, you can leave us." Blanc didn't want them to overhear what she had to say. Waiting for them to disappear, she took a sip of tea; it tasted a bit worse than usual. "You loathe being my prisoner, isn't that so, Vert?"

Staying silent, she didn't want to answer that. Blanc was not an evil person but she had her faults. She didn't doubt that if she had continued to be a prisoner in Planeptune, she would either be dead by now or not live much longer. Lastation likely wouldn't have treated her much better. "It's better than being a prisoner to the other two."

"Please don't avoid the question, Vert." Blanc was awfully polite, catching the blonde off guard.

Averting her eyes, she responded truthfully. "Nobody likes being a prisoner."

Blanc took another sip from her tea before going completely silent. The awkward atmosphere was driving Vert nuts, even though she tried her best to hide it. More than ten minutes passed before Blanc picked up her cup again, taking a third sip and putting it down again. "Vert."

Her eyes fixated on Blanc already, Leanbox' goddess was happy that the silence was over with.

"Do you hate the way I look?" Blanc was still trying to sort out her thoughts on what to do with Vert.

The blonde couldn't quite make sense of the question. Was Blanc fishing for a compliment? Or was it another test? She knew how overly sensitive the girl was regarding her lack of breasts so she absolutely couldn't mention that. "I think of you no less than Neptune or Noire."

Hearing that, Blanc blushed a little. She was good at telling when someone was lying straight to her face and Vert was more than likely telling the truth. She was also equally bad at handling her own emotions. Changing the subject, Blanc didn't expect that Vert would give her an honest answer. "How were the books in my library?" There was an ulterior motive to asking that.

"I focused more on manga when I was in Leanbox, so I can't say much. Many of them are very dry and lifeless, though. They read a lot like instruction manuals." Vert could see through Blanc's question with ease but lying to her now would only complicate things. The way it looked, she appreciated honesty, which was something Vert found to be surprising.

Not that honesty wouldn't make her mad as she found out a second later. Blanc gripped the edge of the table so hard that she broke a piece out of it. About to snap at Vert again, she took several deep breaths to calm down. "You knew that I wrote them?"

"If I didn't point out the problems, you won't get better." Honestly, she couldn't tell if Blanc had the talent or not. The ideas behind the brunette's works ranged from barely okay to good, but the execution was often horrid.

Staying silent after hearing that, Lowee's goddess returned to her tea. Unlike the ruling bodies in Lastation and Leanbox, Blanc had her Oracle take care of many things, both civil and military, for her, allowing her some free time. She still had to go on military excursions pretty often, causing more than enough stress. Several minutes passed, with both of them simply looking at each other in silence. "Can I ask you to keep reading my books?"

Vert wasn't too thrilled by the idea but she didn't exactly have a plethora of choices available to her. "If you want me to."

"I trust nobody else to be really honest with me." Whether they were her subordinates or simply afraid of her temper, Blanc was fully aware that people were being too respectful. Not to mention, she didn't want the fact that she was an amateur author widely known.

At this point, Vert felt that if they had come together like this under different circumstances, she might have volunteered to help Blanc improve her literary skills. Even though she often mocked the girl for her temper and flat chest, she didn't dislike or outright hate her. Out of the other goddesses, she might have been the least sexy, but she was definitely the cutest. But with the state things were in now, she couldn't help but antagonize Blanc.

Blanc didn't like to admit it, but Vert, as someone who was originally of the same social standing as she was, was really the only person that she could ask. In turn, feelings of guilt started to come up. She was coercing Vert to agree to it. After all, she was a prisoner and facing prison or possibly execution. Not that she could do anything about it.

Vert capitalized on the confusion that showed visibly on the face of Lowee's ruler. "Why do you keep me prisoner if it bothers you that much?" Judging that it was safe to drill for information like that, Vert hoped that she could somehow manipulate Blanc into committing an error that allowed her to escape.

"You are a danger to Lowee, even when you are not at Leanbox. I cannot let anyone else take custody of you or let you go back to Leanbox." Leaving out a small part of the reason, the fact that she was starting to like having her around, Blanc wondered why she had never felt that way before. Was it the lack of disrespect that Vert usually exerted towards her?

"Wouldn't it be better to just kill me then? Keeping me with you seems to be a big risk." It wasn't the smartest move to argue that way, but she had to keep trying.

"Lowee, and I, are not so barbaric that we would execute a goddess, enemy or not, without a just trial and reason. Even in war, there are lines that should not be crossed."

It reminded Vert of the time in Planeptune, being tortured every day. They definitely didn't have any issues with stepping over those lines. That, of all the nations, Lowee was staying away from torture seemed almost nonsensical. While Planeptune and Lastation had to deal with three other each, Leanbox and Lowee were fortunate enough to only have to deal with two at a time. It didn't make sense to restrict themselves with such a thing as morals.

Their tea time came to a halt when someone loudly knocked on the door. "Lady Blanc, there are important news."

"Excuse me." Getting up and leaving Vert behind, Blanc left her room. "You two are in charge of guarding my prisoner. Treat her with respect." Her attitude towards Vert was changing. Was it because of the war? Because in times of need, holding on to such things had become much more important and scarce? She couldn't tell, yet. "What news are you talking about?"

"Black Sister was reportedly seen in a small town not too far from the Lastation border."

"Atelier?" Blanc was instantly suspicious of the town. Hopefully **she** wasn't involved. It would be annoying to deal with if that was the case.

"Yes. They reported her collapsed on the border. When the local unit arrived, she was gone. Someone carried her off but covered their tracks."

"Put Atelier onto lock down and find her. Don't let anyone in or out. Let it be known that if someone is hiding her, they will be charged with treason against the state." Blanc was merciless in her operations but not so in how to treat people. Nepgear was still down in the dungeons beneath her tower, giving her the perfect bait to draw Uni out.

_Atelier: A small town that had belonged to Lastation for a long time but became Lowee's territory during the war. Only the object of their prayers changed for the people of the snowy town. Many alchemists and specialized item merchants lived there, making it an important hub for trade and commerce. Because of Lowee's careful attitude towards the former Lastation citizen, the people had relatively easily accepted their new rule. Blanc herself had laid out the regulations that Atelier may not be taxed differently than when they belonged to Lastation, in an attempt to curry the favor of the merchants._

Going back into her room, Blanc hastily walked towards the balcony, transforming into White Heart as she passed Vert. Stopping just short of going outside, she turned to her prisoner, two guards watching her from different corners of the room. "You better not go to bed without me!"

Heading off, Blanc wondered if she should take advantage of the situation and try to sleep with Vert. She wasn't innocent enough to not know about these things and she would likely never get the chance again to have her way like this. "What the fuck am I thinking? I need to find that white haired bitch first." Accelerating, Blanc headed south, towards Atelier.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Compa, how is she?" A little girl, wearing a blue dress and a giant white cap, was waiting in the front of the store. Business was slow today, so she should afford to be a little lazy. It would be hectic soon enough, considering she knew that someone had already leaked the information that the girl was here.

"Thankfully, she will be okay. But it'll take a while before she recovers." Standing in the back, Compa was checking her fever again. It hadn't gone down yet, but it wasn't getting worse either. After finding her out in the snow, Compa had carried her all the way to the town and the house she was staying at.

Fleeing from the more intense battle zones of the war after witnessing the brutality of it, Compa had found shelter with a skilled alchemist. Her services as nurse and assistant were highly valued all thorough the town. "What are we gonna do, Gust? Uni is an enemy to this nation." The gentle girl was worried about what would happen to Uni and the town if they hid her.

"Black Sister, the second in command of Lastation. If you remember, this town belonged to Lastation before the war. Many people here still hold Black Heart in high regard. They would have to search the entire town to find her if we decide to hide." Gust saw the obvious problems with a scenario like that. Not only would White Heart likely take away Atelier's privileges, something she had given them to demonstrate her good will after taking over the territory, but she could potentially see it as treason if they hid Black Sister from her. "By now, they must have put the town on lock down. Even if we took one of the secret route to outside the walls, isn't moving her a bad idea?"

"Her wounds could open up... she needs to rest. Her fever is still really high, too..." Compa was more worried about Uni than actually being punished for helping or hiding her.

"Gust will talk to Lady White Heart and try to make her compromise. Let Black Sister recover here until she is stable enough to be transported to the capital."

"We're just handing her over?"

"The times are hard for everyone, Compa. If we hide her and they do find us, they will throw her in prison anyway. And in her condition, wouldn't that be bad?"

"It could kill her..."

Gust's scheme was not without ulterior motive. White Heart would undoubtedly station a lot of guards not only around this house and shop, making her look very important, but also assign additional troops to Atelier's garrison. More soldiers meant more sales. And with Black Sister resting at her place, many of the people that still had loyalties towards Black Heart would come to her shop.

"They should be here soon. Gust will handle the talking, Compa, so please look after Black Sister while I'm gone. You remember how to mix the necessary potions and medicines, right?"

"I do."

A lot of noise from outside signaled Gust that the soldiers were early. "Gust is going now."

The town was filled with soldiers, knocking on doors and demanding to search the premises. While most complied peacefully, few had to be forced. Blanc walked the streets herself, overseeing the procedure. She had warned the soldiers that unjust violence against the citizen and destruction of their property would come out of their own wallet.

Standing outside her shop, Gust calmly waited for White Heart to walk down the street. Her small stature caught Blanc's attention even from the distance. Approaching the goddess as she got closer, Gust politely bowed before her. "Gust, that is me, would like to negotiate the release of Black Sister to the forces of Lowee."

"So you have her? You're aware that it will be considered treason if you hide her from my forces." Blanc was staying calm, despite being in her goddess form, at least relatively speaking.

"Which is why Gust would like to negotiate her release to you. If you'd like, we could continue this discussion inside."

Whistling loudly, White Heart gave the sign to abort the search. Four commanders approached her within seconds, kneeling in the snow. "We're done. Tell the troops to remain on standby for now." Looking to Gust, the little girl gracefully offered Blanc to enter first. Still in goddess form and with hundreds of soldiers outside, she didn't think the people would be crazy enough to lure her into a trap.

Entering the house, Blanc found herself inside a proper alchemist's store, immediately spotting a few rare potions and brews. Checking every corner, there was no hint of anti-crystals or assailants. "Talk."

"Black Sister remains unconscious and gravely wounded even after she received treatment from a nurse and Gust. Her condition is critical and would without a doubt worsen to the point of likely losing her life in the process of being moved to the capital right now."

"So what do you want? I know that the people in this town still love that obnoxious, big breasted fool." Blanc wasn't too fond of Black Heart. She didn't mock her as much as Vert did, but she was very stuck up and stubborn.

"Gust would like a large portion of your soldiers to remain in this town as a security measure while she regains her health. Upon recovery, she will be brought to the capital. Gust assumes you have brought anti-crystal weaponry with you?"

"You're shrewd for a girl your age." Blanc didn't realize what a massive glasshouse she was in, saying those things. "Why go that far? Is there something in it for you?"

"Gust stands to make a lot of profit, and so does the remainder of the town."

"The soldiers I station here, huh? Damn well planned out. How long will her recovery take?"

"It depends on when her fever goes down. She had lost a lot of blood and the wound in her shoulder wasn't cleaned at all when we found her, so there is a risk of an infection. We will have to wait and monitor her condition."

"How long, I said."

"A few days at least. Even though goddesses and their candidates are much stronger than normal humans, they can't recover over night, isn't that right?"

"What guarantee do I have that you won't try to help her escape the moment she is able to move?"

"Nobody in this town wants to trample on the goodwill you have shown us despite being former citizens of Lastation. For our daily lives, nothing but the name of the goddess we pray to has changed and we are grateful for that. Gust understands if that alone is not enough to guarantee that there won't be people that try to help Black Sister escape. An easy solution to this is to attach a tracking device to her to which only you, Lady White Heart, will have the unlocking code for. If Black Sister moves on her own accord, all of your troops will be capable of following her wherever she goes."

"And you have one of those tracking devices?" Blanc was impressed by how much the girl had thought it through.

"Naturally. Gust made it herself, anticipating our meeting." Pulling a large ring, resembling an anklet, from her pocket, she handed it to Blanc. "It is fixated on the upper thigh and becomes impossible to remove without cutting off the limb completely, vital functions ceasing for more than thirty minutes or your personal energy."

Examining the device, Blanc was satisfied. Few people came as prepared as that, and she didn't want to actually kill Noire's sister. If what the rumors said were true, she would probably willingly give up information on Lastation in exchange for Nepgear. "I'll oversee you putting it on her and I will test the release as well as the tracking before agreeing."

"Of course. Gust expected no less." Gust didn't feel entirely comfortable selling out Uni, given that she was the sister of the goddess she had been praying to for years, but new times warranted new deals and ways of business. She was already counting her additional sales of custom made mantles and other gear.

Neither of them had noticed that someone was listening in. Hidden completely in the shadows of the supporting pillars above the room, recording everything the goddess and the alchemist said, the shadow laid patient, waiting for the perfect chance to escape.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Over a hundred soldiers, armed with anti-crystal weaponry, remained stationed in Atelier, additionally to the usual garrison. Many of the merchants welcomed the new customers with open arms while a select few felt pressure.

Being given the direct order to not pursue or disturb the people of Atelier or their customers, the soldiers found ways to alleviate their boredom by shopping, much to the delight of the alchemists and shop owners.

As a gesture of thanks, each merchant gave a marginal portion of their profits to Gust, who was more than auspicious to be their object of gratitude. A main danger that remained was that Lastation might attack the town to retake it and capture Black Sister at the same time. As Blanc was fully aware of that too, she leaked the information that in the case of an invasion, she would rather burn the entire town to the ground with her radiation weapon than to give it back.

Of course, all the people in Atelier knew that this was a false threat yet no one would openly say so in fear of a spy. White Heart had not once but twice proven that she cared for the people in her lands, regardless of where they were from. The news that she had not taken Black Sister back to the capital despite the danger she posed had spread like wildfire.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"We don't have the luxury of patience here in Leanbox. If you're going to change your mind by yourself, do it now." Cave looked at her prisoner, hung from the ceiling by four chains, each attached to one of her limbs. They were made out of a special alloy that Red Ring used to forge their weapons. In theory, not even White Heart should be capable of breaking them with brute force.

Nisa, hanging in mid-air, tried to spit at her captor. "I'll never serve you villains!"

"Villains, huh? Then what is Planeptune? Is using poison gas and killing her own troops a clear sign that Purple Heart is a villain too? What about all the espionage, controlled information and surveillance that Lastation uses? What about Lowee's radiation weapon? If you think there is a single nation around that isn't ruled by a _villain_ of some sort, you're sorely mistaken." Slowly walking around Nisa, Cave touched her butt a few times, each time producing a cute but violent reaction from the flat chested girl.

"Stop touching me, you pervert!" Shouting, she knew that nobody could hear her. They were at least a dozen meters below the surface, judging by the amount of stairs they had gone down. She was iron in her determination to resist any torture, however.

"Do you know what they do to prisoners in Planeptune when they torture them for information? They start by melting the upper-most layer of their skin with a special acid before bathing them into salt water. While not life threatening in any way, the pain is exceptional. Alternatively, they hang them up-side down from the ceiling, sticking a tube up their ass and forcing a mixture of chemicals into your stomach that make you constantly and violently vomit until your stomach and intestines start to rupture from the stress." Cave paused, to let Nisa imagine the horrors of being a prisoner of war in Planeptune. "But the worst they save for last. Over time, they inject you with a special hormone mix that slowly but steadily starts to inflict damage to your muscle tissue. At first, they lose the ability to move their fingers correctly. Later, their limbs. If they don't talk at this point, they change the mixture. It varies from person to person but generally it causes dozens of irrational fears, which they then abuse to drive the person just short of insanity."

Nisa was swallowing hard, cold sweat on her forehead. She didn't know that there were torture methods like that.

"Lastation believes solely in a specifically developed truth serum. Many prisoners die within minutes of it being administered due to the stress it causes on the brain, but one can learn quite a lot in those minutes. But that would be useless to use on you, isn't that so? I don't want to you spill your guts, I want you to obey me."

It was all plan of her technique. Telling the prisoner what forms of torture existed and were used by other countries caused significant damage to their determination and also raised their awareness of their situation. She had broken more than a dozen people like this in the last few months.

"People say that there is no torture in Lowee, but think about it. If you keep silent you stay there, in prison, in that snow ridden country, for possibly the rest of your life. Sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, maybe a hundred years in prison. Day in day out you're freezing, day in day out you do nothing but count the times the guards walk by because there is no escape. Isn't that torture of the highest level?"

Judging by the haphazard breathing of her prisoner, the tension in her muscles, the movement of her eyes and the sweat, Cave knew that she was just about done with the first stage. "Here in Leanbox, we don't torture. We always need more people to use in our experiments, so generally, that is where the prisoners go. If they know something, they'll talk to avoid ending up as fodder for our scientists." Taking a wooden chair from the corner of the room, Cave put it in front of the door, sitting on it, giving Nisa some time to let the information affect her. After that, it was merely a matter of breaking her spirit.

As the minutes passed, Nisa couldn't help but imagine scenarios where she was the subject of the various torture methods. But what made her even more nervous was that conceited gaze that her captor had on her face the entire time. She hadn't looked away even once, her eyes constantly fixated on Nisa.

"You know, of all the torture methods, I believe not a single one takes the right approach. I'm a fan of the path of least resistance. Now, pain can make people do unspeakable things. But there is one other thing that works even better than pain."

Nisa had enough. Opening her mouth wide, she was about to bite her tongue. She'd rather die a hero than live through some kind of hellish torture and end up as another goon. But Cave was faster than her. Grabbing her jaw, she kept it forced open, using her other hand to pull a syringe from behind her back, injecting the liquid inside directly into Nisa's jaw. Within seconds, the blue haired girl couldn't open or close her mouth anymore, much less speak or feel her tongue.

"I lost two prisoners that way before I had someone design this paralyzing agent for me. It only affects the muscles right around the injection point. It takes an incredibly long time to wear off so don't bother trying to wait it out." Putting the syringe away, Cave showed her back to Nisa for the first time. Over a dozen different syringes were mounted on leather straps. A sight that sent a cold chill down Nisa's spine.

"Now, since you can't talk anymore, let me tell you what is even more effective than pain." Taking a second syringe from her back, Cave walked around Nisa once, pulling on the chains mechanism that was mounted to the wall until Nisa was hung up like a scarecrow, unable to move at all. "Let me demonstrate." Walking up front of the girl, Cave carefully moved the girls clothes out of the way, revealing her flat chest. Injecting half the faintly red liquid directly into her right nipple, the other half into her left, the blue haired girl reacted violently, throwing her head back and forth for a few seconds.

During that time, Nisa's face started to become more and more flushed until she couldn't bear to be angry anymore, her mouth slightly open, hot air escaping with her rapid breathing, she was no longer growling at Cave but desperately trying to suppress her voice completely, without any success. Cute moans escaped her after a few seconds. Her mind was a spiral of unwanted pleasure, a complete chaos. She was unable to think straight at all.

Cave waited almost a minute before she continued. "That is a drug that only I use. You know how certain animals are in heat several times a year? This induces a very similar sensation in the human body." Reaching out to Nisa's chest, Cave poked one of her completely stiff nipples before twisting it slightly, sending powerful shocks through Nisa's entire body. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

Getting back to her chair, she took the small knife that was taped to the bottom of the seat. Nisa couldn't even react with fright, the lust building up constantly, ravaging her body as the desire kept getting bigger without any hope of satisfaction.

Carefully cutting the hotpants that covered her hips, Cave slid her hand in and ripped the cloth off all at once, baring Nisa's intimate place to the hot air of the room. She was so wet that drops of her love juice fell to the ground with every second. "You see, my drug works a little bit too well. If I don't inject you with this, you'll have a massive orgasm in a few minutes, so strong that it'll knock you out for hour." Inserting the needle just above Nisa's clit, Cave injected the content of the syringe all at once. "This is a special serum I had made just for this. It stops you from having an orgasm unless I give you the anti-serum as well. And unlike this, it isn't permanent."

Smiling, Cave crouched down, getting a good look at the mess Nisa was making on the rough stone ground. Her love smell was starting to fill the air more and more, making her horny as well. Getting up and walking around Nisa once, she extensively groped her butt again. "You got a cute face, a nice butt and you're pretty lewd down there, too. Usually I let my girls take care of their needs if I have a prisoner, but I just might do you myself." Finishing her round, Cave took the chair away from the door. "But that will have to wait."

Nisa was screaming out in her mind. _Don't leave! _But Cave simply opened the door and left her behind, filling up with lust and without any way to relieve herself. Starting to drool about a minute after being left alone, it was completely unbearable to be unable to orgasm. There was not a single thought of justice or heroism left after two minutes. After five, her eyes were slightly rolled back. At seven, she lost control of her bladder, staining the ground of the floor with her urine. It wasn't until ten minutes had passed before Cave returned to the room, seemingly ignoring the smell of urine. Right below Nisa was a large puddle of her love juices. The skin around her nipples had turned into an irritated red and her clit was glowing in the same color, twitching randomly.

Without warning, Cave injected Nisa with the anti-serum. Within seconds did the girl start spit saliva, wildly throwing her head around, experiencing an orgasm so powerful that it wiped her mind clean completely. The stored up lust escaped all at once, making the orgasm last for almost fifteen seconds, an insane amount of time.

Barely conscious afterward, something Cave applauded her for, Nisa was also barely coherent. The moment the orgasm passed, the drug was working again, she could feel it. She just wanted it to stop. Whatever she had to do to make it stop, she would do it. She couldn't handle it anymore.

"Do I let you go through it a second time or should I suppress the drug for now and we can talk?" Cave waited for an answer but none came. Using her hand to lift Nisa's head a little, she could see that she was on the verge of passing out. "Blink if you want me to stop it." Nisa blinked rapidly and immediately.

Taking a syringe from her back, she injected it into Nisa's throat. From experience, the victims of her drugs wouldn't have the strength left to bite their tongue. Waiting a few seconds, she slapped Nisa's cheek gently a few times.

"Stop... stop the drug.. I can't take it... anymore... It's driving me... crazy..." Moaning in-between words, Nisa was barely able to speak. Her crotch was on fire and her chest felt even worse, like her nipples were about to burst into flames.

"There is no permanent cure." Cave casually walked circles in front of Nisa.

"Wh... what?" It was getting harder and harder for her to talk.

"There are two drugs and one each to temporarily suppress their effects. Left alone, you'll get so horny you'll be unable to do anything but masturbate all day, infinitely frustrated because you can't reach an orgasm. With my help, you can live a relatively normal life, only occasionally having to deal with the effects of the drugs." It was a chain that tied Nisa to her for the rest of her life. Or until she administered the permanent counter agents, the existence of which only she knew about.

"You... mons..." Before she could finish the line, Cave slowly rubbed over her love spot, causing Nisa to moan so heavily that her tongue hang out. "Stop... stop... I..be... beg you..."

"Now what will it be? Spend the rest of your life like **this** or become part of my unit? Most of the time you won't even notice the difference in your body to before." Cave knew that at some point, she would crack. "Maybe I should let you spent an entire night like this. The last one that went through it pissed and shit herself a few times before it was over."

The mere thought of having to endure several hours of her current state alerted every single survival instinct Nisa had. "I... I'll do... it..." She wasn't stupid. If she refused, that girl would simply continue to torture her like this until she agreed to do it anyway. At least she didn't have to suffer any longer.

"Just to be clear, if you try to betray me in any way, you'll spent the rest of your life, which won't be more than a few days then, like this, experiencing lust so strong that even monsters will look intelligent compared to you."

"I... get it..." Nisa nodded her head the best she should.

Taking two syringes, she injected the suppressant first and it started to work immediately. Nisa regained some sort of control over her mind, barely enough to understand that if she should ever raise her hand against that girl, she would turn into a drooling animal in heat. She had no choice but to obey her. No matter how much she despised her at the time, she couldn't think about killing herself. It was as if her body, now knowing that immeasurable pleasure, was refusing to let her.

"I forgot to mention this, but part of the suppressant also works against depression and suicidal impulses. Of course, you can take your chances and let it wear off and hope you'll be able to handle the heat long enough to kill yourself, but I doubt it."

Still breathing heavy, Nisa was craving for relief, for sex, no matter with whom. Her eyes focused on Cave's cleavage and hips, she could only think about ripping her clothes off, licking every centimeter of her breasts and pushing her fingers as far into her love spot as she could.

"Hey." Cave knocked on the door twice, the signal that she was done. "Take her upstairs. I'll take care of her desires personally so nobody touch her." Getting a muffled _understood_ from the other side, Cave took the last of her syringes. "Don't worry, just a mild sleeping agent. It'll knock you out for five or ten minutes. I don't want to do it **in here** because it smells like piss." Injecting the syringe right in Nisa's neck, it worked immediately.

Opening the door, Cave stepped out. "Get to work."

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Lady Noire, we can't!" Several chiefs of staff tried their best to stop Black Heart from launching a full scale assault on Atelier to save her sister. If she had to, she would wipe the town off the map to get her sister back. "Those people used to be **our** people. We can't just eradicate an entire town. Our citizen would revolt."

"Then find me a way to get Uni back. And do it **now**!" Shouting her orders, Noire almost broke her keyboard when she cut all connections. "Dammit!" Violently flailing, the black haired girl couldn't believe that Uni was right under her nose and in Blanc's clutches. She didn't know how much Blanc had changed, but she didn't put it past her to destroy the village with her radiation if there was a danger of Uni escaping.

She would need to sent a lot of troops all the way north to attack the town, too. If Neptune got wind of that, Lastation would be wide open for an attack and the UMD wasn't ready for wide area use yet. Gnawing on her thumb, Noire was ready to explode in frustration.

Unable to settle down, Noire arrived on the balcony, facing west. If only Planeptune was gone! Leanbox was quiet for the time being, so if only for that accursed purple haired idiot wasn't participating in the war, she could go and rescue Uni before Blanc took her!

"Lady Black heart." She recognized the voice.

"What do you want, Kei? I'm busy." She didn't have the patience to deal with her right now.

"I've inquired about a solution to the current issue from our best researchers and they have offered this." Kei held a staff in her hands, a small white sphere mounted on top of it. It was almost as high as Noire was tall, emitting a faint magic aura. "They assure me that this device is capable of imitating the optical camouflage technology that Lowee used in a twenty meter radius."

"Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"It was a project that Black Sister would be overseeing." Handing the staff over, Kei walked away. "It is activated by the phrase _Black Heart Install: AC _and is fed by your energy, thus it isn't viable for the troops to use it by themselves. It is deactivated by the phrase _Black Heart Uninstall_."

"Black Heart Install: AC." With a flash of light, Noire noticed a slight magical net in the air around her. Walking around with the staff, she looked at the windows of the door that connected the balcony to her room. She was completely invisible, and so was Kei, who showed up a few seconds later, walking into her quarters.

Opening a direct line to her COC, Noire knew that this would be enough to get Uni back. "Ten of my personal unit are to assemble at the northern gateway right away. No questions, no details, just tell them to do it." Closing the line before anyone could try to talk her out of it, she looked for Kei, who was nowhere to be found. Uncaring, Noire transformed and jumped off the balcony, heading to the northern gate by flight.

Several levels below, in Lastation's center of communication, Kei had just received a high priority order from Noire and was following it, knowing that there was no arguing with her in this state.

=== End of Line ===


	3. Install: Burst

**Follow me on twitter for updates on when a new chapter goes live. twitter/KuuTenko**

**Overheat**

_Execute: 1111000_

**Install: Burst**

Noire was completely pinned down in the middle of nowhere, a plain between the city of Platina and the Warace river, two of her men already dead. Out of nowhere, Purple Heart had shown up, circling the area far above them, wearing a weird visor. Without warning, she started to bombard the area below with energy shots, not quite arbitrarily. She was focusing her attacks always on the area that Noire was in.

Taking shelter in a small grove of trees, Noire didn't want to fight Neptune. With not even a dozen troops to back her up and the UMD likely still on cool cooldown, unable to provide personal protection that soon after it's last use.

"Lady Black Heart. We will draw her attention while you proceed." The soldiers knew nothing about the mission at hand, but given the direction, the cloaking device and the secrecy, there was no doubt that it was an infiltrate and rescue mission, heading for Atelier.

Far above them, Neptune grinned to herself. She couldn't tell exactly where Noire was, but the visor allowed her to pick up on the energy a goddess exerted when transformed. It had come at a quite a price and there was no doubt that the thing that had sold her this had somehow gotten a hold of information that Black Heart was out on a top secret mission. It was a great chance to kill her and also test the fruits of her research.

"Come out, Black Heart! I know you're here!" The energy reading was all over the place but strongest around and inside the tree grove near the river. "Dynamic Blaster!" Firing countless shots, several impacted into the river, causing huge explosions underwater, killing fish and flora, causing artificial rain that covered several dozen meters.

One of the large trees caught fire in her next barrage and not to her surprise, soldiers came running out, appearing out of nowhere. She had been warned that Black Heart was using a cloaking device, but that very device was what allowed Purple Heart to find her. About to fire at the soldiers, something hit her arm, going right through it, causing a small but strongly bleeding hole. "Anti-crystal weaponry? Shit."

As powerful as goddesses were, while normal bullets barely scratched them, a bullet made from anti-crystal, the most sought after resource in the war, was as dangerous to them as bullets to normal people, completely bypassing their unique physiology and powers. Ascending higher into the air and out of range of the rifles, Neptune covered her arm, using raw energy to close up the hole. It would take time to really heal and she didn't have any. "As good a time to test as as any." Loosening a small bag that was attached to her hip with a leather strap, she took out a large injection vial, filled with a bizarre looking substance, deep purple and sizzling violently. Injecting it into her arm, nothing happened for several seconds.

Noire almost fell over when Neptune let out a roaring scream that must have echoed all the way to Platina. But that was not all. The goddess of Planeptune had sorely underestimated the dangers and warning her scientists had given her. Dropping her blade, violently clawing her own face and throat, her voice turned savage, blood starting to drip from her mouth. Flailing wildly and unleashing unstable energy bullets in every direction, Purple Heart violently bend over, powerfully vomiting a large amount of blood, growling and creaking. A weird glow emerged from the goddess, melting the skintight outfit she was wearing, burning it away gradually. Parts of her skin burst open, raw energy leaking out, her voice breaking down, changing haphazardly to a higher and then deeper tone before stabilizing.

The soldiers had never experienced a sight like that. No training in the world could prepare them for what they were witnessing. Few of them were able to stop their bodies from trembling in pure fear. Whatever Purple Heart was doing, it was bad, incredibly bad.

Blood ran from her eyes, staining her cheeks, mixing in with the blood that ran from her mouth. The pain that ran through her body was like she was being boiled alive in her own skin in a broth so spicy that it couldn't be from this world. Her hair started to rot off, turning white and lifeless, at the same time her vision was starting to deteriorate until she could barely make out rough shapes of the landscape. And finally, her levitation ability forsake her, the goddess plummeting to the ground.

The impact caused a slight smoke screen and then it was quiet. Nobody dared move. Noire's eyes were wide open in terror. What in the world had Neptune just done? She had wanted her gone, wanted her out of her way, but not like **this**! About to turn back and head towards the impact zone, Noire couldn't move her legs. There was... _something evil_ waiting for her there. Something so irrationally evil that it didn't matter who or what she was. She could feel it in her bones. "Retreat! Get away from-"

But it was too late. Before the soldier furthest in the front could react, his body was vertically cleanly cut in half, blood, organs and tissue gushing out of the gaps. Both halves falling to the ground, a black heel crushed the left side of the soldier's head. Until then did the soldiers realize the presence of **her**. Wild, dark purple hair that was glowing in the daylight, a black skintight outfit that covered all of her legs and her arms but just barely her torso and enormous breasts. "Oh... did I hurt you?" Looking down, there was something certifiably creepy about the way she talked. Stomping on the remains two more times, the woman started to laugh. "I forgot, you can't answer anymore. I guess that's how its like with small fry."

Just as the unknown woman looked up, Noire felt a massive horror run down her back. She was looking **straight at her**, cloaking device or not. "I can _feel_ you. Why don't you entertain me a little? I'm sure we will have a lot of fun." Raising her right hand, the woman dropped her weapon. "I've always wanted to try handicrafts." With a lightning like move, the dark purple haired woman was instantly in front of another soldier. "What a cute face you have. It'll be much, much, much cuter tear stained and distorted by pain!" The sound of bones breaking and flesh ripping could be heard several meters. The other soldiers were frozen solid in fear. "I've always had this tendency to take off the arms of my dolls." Playing around with the limb, the woman held it in front of the soldier, who had not even noticed yet that her right arm had been ripped off.

Noire was ripped out of her trance when she heard the soldier scream in pain and utmost agony, rapidly bleeding out. The woman wasn't quite satisfied with that, yet. Picking the soldier up by her throat, an slightly insane glint wandered over her face. "Let's see what happens if I do... _this_." Using two of her fingers to rip apart the cheeks of the girl, she created a grotesque and artificial smile on the face of the dying soldier. "Hm.. not quite. I might have to try again." Turning to the next soldier, she clicked her tongue. "I don't like blue hair. You; be gone." Raising her left hand, and clicking her fingers, the soldier was instantly engulfed by a powerful energy pillar of lightning, burning the soldier to a crisp within seconds. The smoking and foul smelling corpse was finally enough to force the remainder of the soldiers out of their fearful state.

Firing at the unknown enemy, the dark purple haired woman evaded it all as if it was the easiest thing for her, almost teleporting from spot to spot. By sheer luck, one soldier finally managed to graze her right shoulder, causing a small bleeding wound. That very same soldier was no more than a thirty centimeter thick ball of meat less than ten seconds later, the woman having crushed the body until it resembled a basketball.

Noire ran, she ran as fast as she could. There was absolutely no beating that thing, not without an army or possibly Blanc's radiation attack. And even them, the sight of the woman dismembering and playfully destroying her soldiers had instilled an unmovable fear in her. She would not forget those sights for the rest of her life.

Passing a small piece of land, Noire was thrown off her feet when the ground below her violently shook. Looking back, the sky was turned red by a massive explosion, just around the region where she had come from. The wind of the shock wave reached her a second later, bringing the smell of death and destruction. Slowly getting up, her legs almost refusing to work, Noire couldn't comprehend how Neptune could have turned into such a monster. She had always been arrogant and efficient in her fighting, but that... thing... was a complete monster, the suffering of her enemies her delight.

Standing amidst an enormous crater, the remains of her playthings littering the ground, the purple haired woman licked her hands, stained thick with blood. "They don't even taste good... ah, what a disappointment. I'm _not_ satisfied at all." Turning her eyes towards the town in the distance, she smiled for a moment.

A violent pulse ran through her body before she could move, forcing the unknown entity on her knees. Bending over and vomiting blood on the ground, she felt like her internal organs were falling apart. Vomiting blood a second time, breathing was starting to become excruciating, her sight was rapidly deteriorating, skin rotting off her arms and legs like she was an old corpse. "How can this..." Unable to speak more than three words, blood started to fill her throat and lungs as her organs ceased functioning properly. A second pulse, dark lilac fire started to break out of her skin, causing pain so intense that she wanted to rip her own head off, but her limbs were no longer under her control. With the third pulse, the area was engulfed into a devouring fire, eradicating all life for hundreds of meters around the woman.

Noire watched the catastrophe from a safe distance and she still felt horrified. Tightening her grasp on the device that kept her invisible, she continued to run, cold sweat on her forehead. Whatever it was Neptune had done, she never wanted to come across **that** again.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Uni was coherent if weak and unable to move. The blood loss had been severe and she was still disorientated. Recognizing Compa, sleeping while sitting up, on the wooden chair that was placed next to her bed, she didn't believe herself to be in immediate danger. The room was warm, meaning she was either not in Lowee or it had been heated, both excluding the possibility that she was in prison.

Every attempt to move, even turning her head ever so slightly, was met with waves of pain gushing forth from her arm. She could still feel her fingers, which relieved her. The last thing she remembered was walking through the snow, bleeding out. As candidate, she didn't quite match her sister's power, leaving her unable to use the shares energy for emergency aid.

"Compa..." She had met the girl a few times before, finding her among the medical officers in the early days of the war. She had introduced herself as unaligned nurse, taking care of the wounded no matter who they are.

Waking up and looking around while half-asleep, Compa thought she had heard something. "Is it time for dinner?" Speaking very slowly, the girl with creamy pink hair covered her mouth, yawning quietly before dozing off again, only to wake several seconds later. "Uni...?" Realizing that her patient might have been calling her, she got herself together, resisting the urge to sleep.

"Where..." Coughing once, Uni grit her teeth, the pain in her arm blindingly strong. Feeling sick to her stomach, Uni closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths. "Where is this?"

"This is Gust's shop. She helped me heal you."Standing up and crouching next to the bed, Compa gently put the back of her hand on Uni's forehead. "Your fever has gone up, that's not good." Despite having seen a lot of the horrors the war was offering, Compa had remained a sweet and caring girl, genuinely worried about Uni despite barely knowing her.

"Which town... and state?" Following Compa's moves from the corner of her eyes, the girl took several weird looking items from a shelf, starting to grind them in a stone bowl. "And who is Gust?" The more she talked, the more her throat hurt. She felt dehydrated and incredibly thirsty all of a sudden.

"Oh, that is what you meant. We're in Atelier, the alchemist city. Gust is one of the alchemists."

Atelier. Lowee territory. Did they hide her from Blanc's troops? There was no way the white goddess wouldn't know about her after she got in the middle of a fight between Planeptune and Lowee troops. Before she could think about it any further, a painful headache was added to her ever growing list of pains. "Can I have something to drink?" Given her position, she was in no shape to be demanding.

Stopping her medicine mixing, Compa poured some cold water from a steel can into a cup of the same material. Everything inside the store and the living apartment was made by Gust and she preferred practical utensils that survived a long time.

Slightly raising Uni's head by pushing with her hand from behind, Compa helped her drink, a process she was very used to. Many soldiers remained were almost paralyzed until they fully healed, unable to take care of themselves during that time.

"How is she?" It finally being time to close shop, Gust came to see what her patient's condition was like. Noticing the half-mixed medicine on the desk, the girl slapped Compa's hip. "Gust told you a dozen times to not leave a mixture unfinished. It could develop side effects." Pushing a stool to the desk, Gust easily jumped on it, continuing where Compa had left off, able to immediately discern what medicine she was making based on the ingredients, the preparation and the patient's state.

"I'm sorry. She needed something to drink, so I helped her." Compa understood that Gust wasn't mad at her. During her stay in Atelier, she had picked up a lot of things from the younger girl, able to do some amateur alchemy work by herself now.

"So, how **is** she?" Gust kept making the medicine while Compa helped Uni to drink a bit more water.

"Bad." Uni answered for Compa. "Are you Gust? You're pretty tiny." The water was helping her regain her ability to talk, even though she still had to deal with the stinging pain of the headache that flared up with every word.

"Yes. Compa and Gust saved your life." Talking about herself in the third person was just one of Gust's acquired ticks. The more unique a shopkeeper was, the easier it was for the customer to remember them. It was also cute, in her own opinion.

"Are you hiding me from Lowee?" Uni wanted to get straight to business. She didn't have the energy to have indulge in endless small talk.

"No. Lowee troops are stationed outside and all over the town. As soon as your condition improves, you will be taken to the capital." Gust's voice was completely neutral, no hostility but also no sympathy for her situation. "This town owes a debt to Lady White Heart. Gust negotiated that you may stay in this town until you have recovered enough to withstand the transportation to the capital."

Uni grit her teeth. What a mess she had gotten herself into. Lashing out at the alchemist wouldn't do her any good, especially not in the situation she was in.

"But Gust knows of a mixture that will slow down your visible regeneration process significantly. If the price is right." Turning around and looking at Uni, she found Black Sister to be easy to read. She had definitely not been on a regular military excursion and the word in town was that Lastation was in an uproar over Black Heart being missing.

"So I would recover without them being able to tell?" Uni needed to know a bit more before she could agree to anything.

"Yes. Although Gust doesn't know if you could escape all those soldiers. They have anti-goddess weaponry."

"What do you want from me in exchange?"

"Trading rights for Atelier to unconditionally trade with Lastation and be exempt from the border tax." It was a huge price to pay. Even if the goddess would enforce an exception to the law like that, people would complain. For a candidate, it was impossible to achieve that. "Gust knows that only the goddess can make that decision. But Gust also knows that a candidate can take the goddess position while the goddess is out of her lands." Once made, an agreement like that couldn't be reversed easily, even for the ruler of a nation.

"What are my chances to get out of here if I make that deal?"

"Gust thinks... around 10%."

One in ten. Those were horrid odds, considering that she would need to go behind her sister's back and make the trade agreement as temporary goddess of Lastation. But she was already in Lowee. If she was taken to the capital, she **would** be close to Nepgear, but given her status, Blanc would never let them be within a hundred meters of each other. So close yet unreachable. Apologizing to Noire in her mind, Uni formed her resolve. If she got Nepgear out of Lowee, she could take her back to Lastation. She would still be somewhat of a prisoner, but under very special circumstances.

"Gust can make the medicine in two days. If you take your medicine every day, you should recover within four days." She hadn't lied to Blanc. If she didn't give Black Sister any additional medicine, it would take a week for her to recover. Almost half of that could be shaved off. Playing both sides was a merchant's role.

"I'll do it. As soon as I have the chance, I will make the trade agreement legally valid." Coughing again, Uni closed her eyes. She was still in massive pain and all the talking wasn't helping. Compa saw that too.

"No need. Gust has already prepared all the legal documents needed. You can sign them when Gust delivers the medicine for the first time." The little girl was much more shrewd than anyone would believe. War made for good business but it also called for good instinct and caution not to screw over the wrong people.

"Gust, she needs to rest." Compa cared for her patients, even if it meant upsetting her employer.

The little girl saw reason but finished the mixture. "This will bring down her fever. Gust has talked to the Innkeeper, he will let you stay for free, Compa since Black Sister is occupying your bed." The room next to the one Compa occupied belonged to the alchemist herself. Luckily, they lived right across the street of the Inn.

"Yes, thank you, Gust." Looking happy that she didn't have to sleep on the chair, Compa reached below the blanket and put a small spherical object into Uni's hand. "If you need me, squeeze the sphere or say my name three times." Smiling, the nurse got up and prepared to leave. With the many victims of the war, she had completely her training two months ago, graduating from a nurse-in-training to a real one.

Walking through the store, Compa opened the door and shivered. This time of year, Atelier was a very cold town, the streets sometimes buried under more than thirty centimeters of snow. Two guards were present, to the left and the right of the entrance outside, clad in thick fur mantles to keep them warm, a courtesy of Gust.

It was yet another marketing ploy. By the time they would be relieved and tell the other soldiers just how comfortable and warm the mantles kept them, others would want those too, which meant more business for the hunters, the craftsmen and the alchemists. Everyone profited. And the guards were less grumpy because they weren't cold.

Both of the guards nodded, impressed by Compa's looks. She was still younger than any of the soldiers in Lowee's military, but very much the object of their attention. Entering the Inn, Compa found several soldiers sitting in the lounge, which doubled as a second bar at the time. Atelier was very much a town of tradition and craftsmen, not relying too much on advanced technology.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Noire ran and ran, blindly towards Lowee, too scared to think. She had stood against large monsters, dragons, armies of Leanbox and Planeptune, even fought against Neptune. But nothing had ever instilled fear in her like this. "What was that thing? It looked just like a goddess but... it wasn't Neptune. Why isn't Kei here when I need her? Is there some way a goddess can transform into something else? Some...one else? No, no, no... that definitely wasn't Neptune. Yeah, it must have disguised itself to look like her." Noire realize how absurd a notion that was but she couldn't comprehend what had happened. The way that weird goddess had killed her soldiers... Blanc was known for her temper, but this way far from anything she would do, even in her biggest of fits.

The actions of... that thing had been deliberate. It wasn't some kind of out of control monster... it knew what it was doing and it enjoyed it. And when her victims started to fight back, she simply obliterated them all. Shaking her head, the horror finally started to wear off. Jumping off the ground and proceeding to fly, Noire realized that she wasn't bound to walking, now that her soldiers were dead. Going back was not an option at this point. Whatever it was, Neptune or not, she couldn't risk running into it. Remembering the instant that thing had glared at her still sent shivers down her back. Goddesses were powerful, but that was beyond anything even a goddess should be capable of. None of them could move like that or were strong enough to turn a human being into a basketball sized meat lump within seconds. It was... completely unnatural how powerful it was.

Feeling a presence, believing it to be the unknown, Black Heart stopped in mid-air. "No... this feels different... it's like... a goddess candidate but... distorted." Over time, she had developed a bit of a touch for detecting other goddesses and candidates. She didn't feel like running into any other abnormalities that day. Continuing her flight towards the north, her instincts kicked in too slowly. What felt like the weight of a mountain, something smashed her into the back. If she had not been in goddess form, it would have snapped her in two.

Unable to break her fall, Noire smashed through the ground, causing a miniature quake in the surrounding area. By coincidence or design, several meters below the surface had been a river, transporting ice cold water to an unknown destination. Finding herself almost drowning in the subterranean stream, the currents would have been no problem if she hadn't taken the blow from the unknown source. To add to the list of problems, she couldn't let go of the staff that kept her cloaked. It was firmly attached to her right hand. Making matters even worse, the weight of the staff was increasing exponentially with every second, pulling her down.

The ice cold water like needles on her skin, she couldn't hold her breath for much longer. The currents threw her around, carried her away, while her mind was focusing on just two tasks. Saving herself and saving Uni. Hitting a section of more severe currents, Noire was smashed against the rock, edges as sharp as blades from aeons of the water polishing it. Taking only scratches, Noire desperately pulled herself up, using energy bombs below herself to counteract the by now colossal weight of the staff that she couldn't let go of. Breaching the surface just briefly, Black Heart gasped for air as hard as she could before she was pulled back underwater.

If only she had stayed underwater, she would have seen a formation of rocks right in front. Smashing against them in full force, the impact caused her to let all the air in her lungs escape, sub zero water replacing it within seconds. Struggling to stay conscious, Noire couldn't tell up and down apart anymore. Noticing a tremendous sound, she found herself in the air, spitting water and gasping for air the best she could. It only took a single look around herself to tell where she was.

In the middle of nothing, a waterfall that descended deep, deep into the very bones of Gamindustri. And the staff was far too heavy to let her fly, amounting to at least ten tons. With a horrified look, Noire plummeted into the depths, quickly unable to see anything but darkness around her.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Blanc was restless. Most of the day had been quiet, too quiet in fact. And the evening had been full of worrisome news. Lastation's goddess and candidate were both missing, the former supposedly on their way north, which was her territory. With Black Sister in Atelier, she knew that Noire wouldn't sit still and try something. But her troops were prepared. If she showed herself near the town, they had the order to open lethal fire. And there was one more piece of information that was extremely unsettling.

"Walking in circles won't help. I made tea, come, sit." Vert, immensely bored with herself, had no ulterior motive. She simply wanted some conversation.

Ready to snap, Blanc let it go instead. It wasn't Vert's fault that things had become bothersome. She had only herself to blame for that. Maybe she would go to sleep early tonight, hoping that things would look clearer the next day. "What flavor did you make? I don't recognize this one."

"I asked one of your guards if they could get me some imported tea from Leanbox. I heard that they went to Atelier, so I wondered if someone had bought some." Vert looked to one of the guards near the door, smiled and waved. The guard returned the smile and waved back, while the one on the other side of the door hissed to her, telling her to stop. But it was too late.

With a flash of anger, Blanc transformed, angrily stomping over to the guard, who was not completely frozen stiff, trying her best to make herself actually invisible. "You. Get the fuck out of here. You're on yard duty for **a month**." Yard duty. The most hated duty in all of Lowee, having to spend the entire day out in the cold, patrolling a place that barely anyone ever stepped foot on, all on their own. "You." Turning to the other guard, Blanc watched her expression with growing interest. "Did you get friendly with the prisoner as well?"

"No, Lady White Heart!"

"Vert. Did you talk to this girl?" Blanc didn't even turn around.

"Only to the other one." Vert felt a little guilty. She didn't know what yard duty meant but judging by the fact that the guard broke out in silent tears made her feel bad.

"Find a new guard. Someone that knows how to keep their mouth shut." Noticing that the other guard had forgotten to shut the door, Blanc slammed it close, generating a bang so loud that the remaining guard almost jumped.

"The nerve of that bitch." Cursing under her breath, Blanc finally turned back when she arrived at the table. She only realized then what had actually just happened. She was treating the simple act of just **talking** to Vert as her own, private, sole privilege as the ruler of Lowee. Embarrassed beyond belief, she lowered her head, unable to face Vert, who was looking slightly amused by the sudden turn of events.

"When you're like this, you're actually very cute, Blanc." Trying to compliment her, Vert didn't lie or exaggerate. The white goddess really looked like that to her at the time. All she achieved was that the girl got even smaller than she already was. "I know you don't want me sticking my nose into Lowee's military business but what had you so restless a moment ago?"

"This doesn't concern only Lowee. You would hear about it eventually, since my guards seem to have taken a liking to you, so I might as well tell you. Listen." Blanc took a deep breath and cleared her throat before continuing. Blanc paused when Vert kept looking at her intensely, ready to hear whatever she had to say. The look made Vert's previous comment roll again in her head. _When you're like this, you're actually very cute, Blanc. You're actually very cute Blanc. You're very cute Blanc. Blanc... you're cute._

"Blanc?" Vert was confused by the sudden silence and spaced out look the white goddess was giving her. Her words woke the girl up so abruptly that she panicked, jumped up and turned away. Her heart was hammering against her chest like crazy, something of the likes she had never experienced.

Calm down... calm down... Was what she was trying to do while thinking it. The more she tried to calm down, the louder a voice in the back of her head got. _You're cute, Blanc... Blanc... Blanc._

"Shut the hell up!" Yelling at thin air, Blanc panted and finally snapped, turning into White Heart and turning towards Vert, who was surprised to see the Lowee's ruler so embarrassed that her face was slightly red. "Now open your damn ears and shut your mouth because I'm not gonna repeat myself!" For reasons that completely eluded Vert, Blanc was on the edge of exploding.

"There was some fucking...**thing** in northern Lastation. Apparently it made goddamn mincemeat out of a full ass squad of troops carryin' goddess slayer weapons! 'n they say that the damn cosplay freak was also there but ran away!" Breathing much more heavily than she wanted to, Blanc took a step towards Vert. "Wasn't enough those fucking idiots spy on everyone, now there's some unidentified psycho freak out there, doing fuck knows to fuck who! So... so..." Just looking at Vert from close up was enough to send endless echoes of the words _You're cute, Blanc_ through her mind, making her even more angry. "**So forget I fucking said anything! I'm going out!**" Running past her prisoner, outside, White Heart jumped off the balcony and flew away, leaving an extremely confused Vert behind.

Looking at the remaining guard, she smiled kindly and waved for the girl to come over.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Completion is at 4%." A scientist was reporting to Purple Heart. "The transmitter does not survive the rejection process, so we will need to inject a new one."

A research laboratory deep underground, far, far below the surface area of Planeptune. A project so secretive that everyone involved had to give up their home, family, friends and life to serve their country. Living in the underground base, all the construction workers that helped built it had been executed by Purple Heart after completion. The scientists were oblivious to that very fact, unaware that they would face the same fate eventually. Purple Heart could not risk anyone leaking information about it. Soldiers, that served to keep an eye on the scientists, were sometimes taken to the surface for military operations. But even those were brutally executed if there was even the tiniest risk of exposure.

"Find a way to speed up completion. Lastation and Leanbox are behaving suspicious lately."

"We could implant multiple transmitters, however..."

"Do it."

"Lady Purple Heart, each transmitter will increase the psychological burden exponentially and-"

The words stopped immediately when Neptune's sword was pointed at the scientist's throat. Picking up a large hand held device that had something like a squarely shaped barrel in front, he returned to the bed Purple Heart was resting on. It had taken the goddess several hours to return to her capital.

_When she came to, she was no longer Purple Heart and could barely move. Laying in the middle of a crater, scorched earth all around her, there were dozens of dead animals littering the ground, no obvious damage or cause of death, as if the grim reaper itself had touched them._

_Screaming the moment she realized her state and became coherent, Neptune crawled forward, countless horrible events rushing through her mind, one more despicable than the next. And she was the perpetrator of all of it. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, **no!" **Repeatedly yelling, she grabbed a nearby rock and started to smash it against her own head. "Get out, get out, get out, get out, get out, get out, get out!" Not even her survival instinct could stop her. Only when her vision was so blurry she couldn't tell anymore where was up and down, when blood was running down her forehead, did Neptune drop the rock, fall flat on her face and vomit everything that was in her stomach and some blood._

_Laying in her own waste, the scenes in her head didn't stop. "What is this... what.. is this..." Unable to breathe, her lungs refusing to work, Neptune rolled over, feeling like she had to puke again. Opening her mouth, nothing would come out but drops of saliva. "Someone... make it stop... please... stop it... make it go away... Noire... help me..."_

_Laying there for several minutes, endlessly repeating the same words, "Noire... help me...", the Planeptune goddess finally regained enough power to assume her goddess form. Transforming, Purple Heart thoroughly examined her body._

"_I'm in worse condition than I thought." Pulling herself up and slowly walking towards the next sight of trees, she needed some rest. The experiment hadn't gone quite as she expected. The damage feedback from the transformation had been severe, even though she was pretty much in the exact state she had been in before injecting, possibly minus some blood and her breakfast._

_Reaching the trees after several minutes of walking, Purple Heart looked at her right hand before carefully touching her forehead. She was still bleeding very slightly. "I have to find a way to do this without turning back... or I'll end up dead."_

"And find me a way that keeps me either in this form or unconscious until I can transform." Gritting her teeth, Purple Heart felt intense pain flash through her right arm twice. Rubbing over the injection spots, she was starting to worry that the project might not be completed in time for whatever Leanbox and Lastation were planning.

"Lady Purple Heart, I have an urgent titled message to deliver." One of the guards approached her, handing her goddess a piece of paper. Neptune recognized the handwriting immediately.

"Get to work." Glaring at the scientists, the goddess walked out of the room, mostly recovered. Leaving the guard and entering a room that nobody but herself had clearance for, not even Nepgear, Purple Heart stood silently in a completely empty room. Just as she grew impatient, what appeared to be a solid wall, opened and someone walked through. "My, you look very banged up."

"What do you want? Our deal was finished and you're not supposed to be here."

"As hostile as ever. Why, you remind me of Lowee's goddess a lot. How is that project of yours going? Did what we gave you prove to be useful?"

"It did. The project is progressing fine. I still wonder how you actually got a hold of that thing."

"That let be our concern. I've come to inform you that a cute little bird has flown into our nest and we're not quite sure what to do with her."

"I've dealt with you lot as business partners because of the war. Don't misunderstand the situation and think you're suddenly my allies."

"My, how cold. As long as you're open for more business, I see no problem. So, are you interested in finding out what little bird we have caught?"

"If that is all you wanted to talk about, we're done. Leave." Her tone made very clear that she was finished with her business partner for now.

"Just hope you won't regret letting this chance slip away."

Both women left the way they came, leaving nothing inside the room behind that could prove that they had ever been there.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Sitting behind the girl, leaned against the wall and on her bed, two of Cave's fingers were plunged deep into Nisa's crack, the blue haired girl moaning so loudly that it could be heard all the way down the floor. Moving them around, stirring up her insides, Cave enjoyed the glassy look in the girl's eyes immensely as she moved her hips back and forth, barely thinking anything at all. Not that she was sadistic, but she had developed a fetish for when they, her victims, were so unconditionally happy that they didn't think about anything else when she or one of the normal girls in Red Ring slept with them.

Twisting the blue girl's nipples with her other hand, Cave finished what she had started, thrusting her fingers in and out of Nisa's love spot, the movement combined with how wet she was creating a loud, perverse sound. Cave made it a rule to never let a new addition actually do anything, so Nisa had both of her arms behind her back, tied together at her wrists. They would experience the pleasure and then have a bit of time to get used to their new state. Later, they would be allowed to actually have sex with the others or, rarely, when Cave took an interest in them, with the leader herself.

Noticing that Nisa tensed up all of a sudden, Cave kept her fingers moving, using the hand that was teasing her nipples to cover her mouth, making Nisa suck on her fingers. Treating them like candy bars, the former defender of justice sucked on them almost desperately for a few seconds before violently reaching her second orgasm of the day. Tensing up even worse, she almost fell unconscious, overwhelmed for a second time. Resting, leaned against Cave, the redhead slowly pulled her fingers out of Nisa, licking her love juices from them, treating it like a delicacy. "A bit more bittersweet than I thought it would be."

Putting Nisa down, the leader of Red Ring got up, whistling. A few seconds later, someone knocked on the door twice. Opening it just a gap, being protective of Nisa, not allowing her to partner with anyone else for sex, Cave took a small piece of tech that looked very much like a stamp. An electronic market that put a permanent mark on the skin and could only be removed surgically or with the stamp. Each stamp was three parts the same and one part generic. Three bars, bend to form three quarters of a sphere, and a small sign that Cave personally customized for every new member.

"You remind me of those things they had in Lastation a long time ago... those penguin-like stuffed toys that would say _dood_ when you squeezed them." Keeping the stamp in her hand, the symbol that was in the empty space where the fourth bar of the ring slowly changing into the shape of one of those penguin-like creatures, Cave looked for a good spot to place it. Since Red Ring was also responsible for infiltration, it couldn't be somewhere visible. Given how sensitive Nisa was about her chest, Cave pushed the seemingly lifeless girl on her back, pressing the device in the center spot between her collar bones. It was painless and quick. Pushing her to the side again, Cave covered the girl with the bed sheet.

"What... did you do... to me..." Nisa was finally starting to become coherent again.

Cave sat down on the bed, affectionately messing up Nisa's spiky hair a bit. "Made you my own."

"To resort to... drugging me... you people..."

"You have to think of it positively. You will work with people that trust you and to which you can always trust your back. And in this war, Leanbox is one of two nations that has not used any weapons of mass destruction. And we're also short a goddess. Doesn't that make our deserving of being defended by a hero of justice?"

"You really have... a way with words..." Being quiet for a moment, Nisa blushed. "Can you stop... making a mess of... my hair?"

"I can't do that. You're too cute like this."

"Where are my clothes?" The aftereffects of the drug were wearing off, the suppressant in full effect already. It stopped the drug from working, but it didn't take care of any built up lust, which was the reason Cave made Nisa her own. At times, she would need to take care of Nisa's... needs.

"In your room. I'll have someone bring them so you can wear them tomorrow."

Confused on what Cave meant, Nisa realized what she was implying when the redhead crawled on the bed and bend down, kissing her. She had never before kissed anyone or even thought about it, but the sensation and taste of Cave's lips was so new, so mysterious and addicting, that she awkwardly tried to respond.

Breaking away and chuckling, leaving a deadly embarrassed Nisa on the bed, Cave smiled at her. "I had to break you to make you a member but you're one of us now. I'll treat you well."

"Sounds shady after everything you did to me..."

"Everyone is upset at first. You don't have much of a choice, though. Only I know how to mix the suppressants." Bending down again, Cave whispered in Nisa's ear. "So you'll be mine, now, tomorrow, forever and ever and ever."

=== OVERHEAT ===

Finally coming to, Noire was surprised that she was still alive. It took her a moment to notice she was freezing, soaked to the bone, and worst of all, back in her human form. The staff was gone, her whole body hurt, and there was an unpleasant sensation around her wrists and ankles. All those observations were made within seconds of becoming coherent.

Looking around, she was facing old, rusty cage in every direction. Her hands and legs were bound together by thick, rusty shackles that showed bloodstains so old that they couldn't be her own. Trying to transform, pulsing pain ran through her entire body, the sensation similar to receiving a powerful punch or kick to the stomach.

The cage was no more than possibly a meter high and wide, not allowing her to stand or even kneel, only sit at the most. Her senses recovered from the blackout gradually, revealing smells of blood, excrement, urine, decay and various other unpleasant flavors. The shackles were cold and scratched her skin with every move. Gruesome red marks covered her ankles and wrists. Peeking beyond the cage, Noire could only see countless large crates, some of them open, some closed, and, behind her own cage, several dozen more cages.

In the cage right behind her was a woman, laying face down on the ground, her skin unnaturally pale. Her clothes were torn and her body was showing dozens of marks of being beaten. Her hair was dirty and sticking together. She was only barely able to tell from the remains of the clothes that she was looking at a Lowee soldier.

It was too dark to see into the cages further in the back. Looking up, Noire was able to make out stalactites, a clear sign that she was somewhere in an underground cave. Focusing on her hearing, there were lots of people talking in the distance, both behind herself and beyond the crates. "Hey! Let me out!" Shouting, nobody paid her any attention.

Noire was growing more impatient and worried by the second. Who had captured her? Judging by the effect the shackles had on her, they had to be lined with anti-crystal to some degree. Only the four big nations should have the technology for that. It was too early to refute the possibility that she was in some kind of Lowee underground camp. A single soldier could either be a deserter or a trap. It was also possible she was in Planeptune.

"Let me out already! Don't you know who I am?!" Shouting several times more, Noire started to panic a little, trying to recall how she had ended up inside a cage, but there was nothing but darkness in her memories. Something or someone, possibly the monster that had slaughtered her troops, had hit her hard enough to smash her though several meters of solid ground, catapulting her into a river. She couldn't tell why the staff had malfunctioned, not leaving her hand. Was it because she didn't deactivate it?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't make sense of it. And nobody was coming for her, either. Waiting, contemplating where she was and how she had gotten there on limited info was slowly but surely making way for desperation. She needed to go to the toilet and there was no sign of anyone coming. Putting her legs together and focusing on her surroundings, she hoped it would go away. No matter what, she would hold it in. She was a goddess, after all!

She couldn't tell how long it had taken for someone to finally show up, but it felt like hours. A massive robot, shaped like a mixture of armored vehicle and man, five massive wheels on each of it's sides, two tremendously thick arms and a small head gave him a bizarre look. "Hey! Let me out! I really need to... anyway, I need to get out!" Shouting endlessly at the robot, he completely ignore her. Starting to sort crates, Noire couldn't believe that nobody would pay her, a goddess, any attention! Her pride didn't allow her to just yell that she had to use the toilet. A lady didn't do that, not under any circumstances.

Watching the robot sort crates, Noire tried several times to break out of the cage but with all of her goddess powers sealed, she was little more than a normal girl in her late teens. Hurting her wrists in the process, she bend over a few times, desperately holding it back.

Just when she was ready to give up, someone else appeared. An old man that got the robots immediate attention. "Bring them to the front. We're starting soon."

Without another word, the robot turned and rolled towards the cages. "I need to get out for a moment... I need to... you know. So let me out, got it?"

Ignoring Noire, he rolled past her, opening up the cage with the woman that laid face down. "Dead?" Poking her a few times, the woman suddenly crawling out of the cage, jumping up and trying to run. The robot wasn't quick enough to catch her. But just when the escapee reached the crates, she suddenly fell apart, literally. Her body had been split into two, similar to what Noire had seen happen to her soldiers. It was too dark to correctly make out if anyone was there, but Noire feared for her life. If that was the result of running, what was she to do? Opening another cage, the robot grabbed something inside before repeating the process once more, holding something in each hand. As it drove by, Noire recognized that it was holding people. But that was not what scared her.

The look on their faces. Both of them had blank expression, as if all hope and life had been sucked out of them. Their eyes were half-closed and neither of them struggled in the least. She could only tell that both were black haired beyond that. The robot returned about a minute after vanishing beyond the crates with the two girls, repeating the process. This time, it was a blonde and a redhead, neither of them any sign of hope on their faces.

Unable to continue watching, Noire curled up the best she could while still holding back the urge to pee. It wasn't until she felt her cage door being opened and a massive hand grab her that she reacted. "Let me go! I... I really need to... just let me go!" Shouting at the robot, she was barely given any attention.

"Shut up. You're just merchandise."

Merchandise? Noire's fears were immediately cranked up to a much higher level than before. Merchandise for what? Or who? She immediately picture ending up as Blanc's plaything, like Vert likely had, if she was even still alive.

She was the last one, judging by the fact that robot's other hand was completely empty. Getting carried beyond the crates, Noire saw something so horrible she only just barely able to hold back puking. Over a dozen girls, looking lifeless, without any hint of anger or fear, were chained to a long metal bar, mounted to a high metal wall. Driving her all the way to the end, he put her down, the shackles acting like an impossibly strong magnet, preventing her from moving away from the bar. Falling to her knees, her wrists locked to the bar that was roughly at chest height, Noire feared for what would happen next.

Opposite to the steel wall was a large curtain. Putting one and one together, she was now sure of where she was. A slave trading camp. She was being auctioned off. And so were all the other girls.

As if to confirm her fear, the curtain started to roll back, starting with the girl furthest away from her. An old man, carrying a microphone, walked past her, stopping not for a second.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" Starting with a loud voice, he received a loud applause. "Welcome to the Graveyard's Pretties Auction! As you all know the rules of the auction, let's get started right away! Starting with this beauty here! Measures of 165cm height, 50kg weight! Her three sizes are 83, 58, 82! Let the offers begin!"

Forcing the first black haired girl on her legs, her expression changed immediately. Noire couldn't tell what she was saying, but she saw her mouth moving, a big smile on her face and her eyes sparkling. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. "She is trying to sell herself. It's a lot better than staying here." The girl next to her, looking to be younger than Uni, talked to Noire. "You better do the same. It doesn't matter who you are, down here. To them, you're just something to buy."

"Sold to number forty-six, for fifteen-thousand credits!" Shouting, the man waited for a few seconds and the big robot rolled onto the stage, grabbing the girl and carrying her off. Noire could have sworn that the girl was crying when she was being taken away.

The auction went on. Each and every girl was sold, for varying amounts of money. Noire noticed that those that were older and not very well endowed sold for significantly less than others. The really young ones as well as the very well endowed ones sold for a lot, on the other hand.

"The night is still young! Moving on! Here we have a cutie! 150cm tall, 39kg weight! What a lightweight and compact girl she is! Her measures aren't bad either! 74, 55 and 77! Isn't she perfect for those among you that like them young?"

Noire was devastated when she could not hear a single call for a bid. The girl just blankly stared at the audience, not saying anything, not doing anything.

"Starting big is thousand credits!" And still nobody moved. "Five-hundred, five-hundred credits!" Nothing. "A hundred credits! She is practically free!"

And finally, the audience moved. "Just move on! We all know how much trouble the bitch is, nobody is gonna want her!" "She's fucking flat!" "And way too old!"

The expression of the girl unchanging, the man slapped her face hard enough to make blood run from the brunette's nose.

"Moving on! Here we have a great deal! A massive bust of 91cm!" Continuing to list her other measurements, it was pretty obvious to Noire what kind of auction it was. They were being sold as sex slaves. She felt genuinely bad for the girl. She wasn't ugly at all from what Noire could tell from her spot.

Noire felt like she was about to lose her mind. After all the time waiting in the cage, she was now forced to wait again, to be looked at by many unknown people, to be sold as sex slave. And she still was trying her best to hold back her pee.

Girl after girl was being sold right in front of her eyes. Three remained unsold, nobody in the audience wanting to bid on them. The first was the brunette, the second and third redheads. Only two girls remained before it was her, Noire's, turn.

And finally, the girl next to her was up. Within seconds, the bids were raising higher and higher, the combination of light blue hair and a big chest stimulating the crowd. And then, Noire was up.

"And now for today's last deal! A black haired beauty with red eyes! A uncanny resemblance to someone we all know, the very own ruler of Lastation!" With those words, the curtain was moved back completely, showing Noire on her knees. "Get up." Covering the microphone, the man waited for Noire to move, but she couldn't. She was barely able to control her bladder as this point. Violently grabbing her and force her on her legs, her could tell that Noire was about to fall down again if he didn't hold her up. "We have some bombing measurements! A 158cm tall, 43kg weight, isn't she just perfect? And her three-sizes are wonderful too! At 83, 56 and 82, she will satisfy almost any of your needs!"

The bids sky rocketed immediately, exceeding fifty-thousand credits within the minute. "An not unexpected outcome! Now, to show you just how perfect she is, let us hear her voice!"

But Noire refused, already disgusted by being watched and touched. Getting her mouth shut, she felt the pressure on her arm increase and with that came pain. "She seems to be a bit shy! But for that, our patented shackles know the solution!" Whispering a word, Noire felt a strong electric shock run through her body. Screaming out in pain, her voice echoed through the audience. But that was not the only thing that broke loose.

Unable to hold it anymore, Noire wet herself, the yellow fluid rapidly running down her thighs. The audience cheered and laughed as Noire closed her eyes, crying in shame as her urine stained her boots and the ground, flowing and flowing until she stood in a puddle of her own piss, her panties, legs, boots, wet and smelly. She could never show her face in public again after shaming herself like this. She couldn't even cry out anymore, too ashamed to let anyone hear her woes.

The auctioneer looked to the side, noticing someone signaling him. "We have received a private bid of **three million credits!** Is anyone able to top this!"

Annoyed and angry comments were flying from the audience but Noire could no longer hear them. "Are there no more bids?! Three Million and fifty thousand? Do I hear Three million and fifty thousand? No? Sold to a private guest for three million credits!"

The curtain closed and finally, she was let go. "Excuse me. I will need to wash out my mouth after lying so much about the ugliness of these girls." Walking away, he left Noire by herself, weak on her knees, supporting herself on the metal bar she was chained to.

The two redheads were taken by the robot first, most likely carried back to their cages, so they could be auctioned off again the next day. The brunette remained and slowly approached Noire, sliding her shackles over the metal bar, nothing between her and the goddess. "You are the real goddess of Lastation, Black Heart, correct?"

"Leave me alone..." Noire didn't recognize the girl was anyone she knew. Most of all, she didn't want anyone to see her in the shameful state she was in.

"Answer the question."

"So what if I am?" Snapping, Noire cried heavier than before, both because of how powerless she was and how much she felt sorry for herself, wetting herself in front of all those people.

"Kick me. I need to talk to you and we won't be able to do that if they put us in different cages."

"I don't care!" Noire shook her head before receiving a powerful kick to her stomach. Looking up, tears rolling down her cheeks, she returned the favor but only hitting the girl's hips. A series of kicks later, both of them were grabbed by the robot who had carried off the redheads.

"What do I do with them? They started fighting?"

A voice from beyond the dark of the crates replied. It wasn't the voice that belonged to the auctioneer. "Throw them in the punishment cage."

"Got it."

Being carried off, Noire understood why the girls were trying so hard to be sold. If the alternative was spending their time in the cages, even being a sex slave would become an attractive option eventually. But she would rather die than end up like that.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Sitting on top of the highest tower that Lowee had to offer, Blanc sighed again, just before she slammed her fist on the solid stone. "Calling me cute..." Completely at a loss on how to respond, especially after running off like that, she wondered what she should do. Being around Vert was surprisingly fun when she wouldn't mock her. She could still be a bit irritating but...

Why had she felt so incredibly jealous when Vert has gotten friendly with one of her guards? The obvious answer that presented itself seemed more than just a little unnatural to Blanc. She had no reason to fall in love with that big breasted otaku. Especially after everything she had said to her in the past.

One thing was certain. She couldn't risk making a bad decision because of Vert. First of all, she had her duties as Lowee's goddess. Secondly, she needed to protect Ram and Rom from the war so they could rule Gamindustri after the war was over. She didn't have room to fall in love, especially not with the enemy, and doubly so not with Vert.

Getting up, Blanc transformed, slowly descending from the roof and circling around the tower, heading towards the balcony. The first thing she saw was surprising and infuriating at the same time. Vert was outside, sitting on a chair, Ram and Rom running circles around her, singing something. Landing on the guard rail, White Heart glared at Vert.

"The hell are you three doing?"

"I was teaching them a song we sing in Leanbox during the winter season." Vert wasn't aware that Ram and Rom were forbidden from entering Blanc's chamber without permission.

"Ram, Rom. Get the fuck out of here."

"No!" "Playing with Vert is fun!" "You never play with us!" "Stop being a meany!" Standing in front of the Leanbox goddess and firing their own insults at their sister, Ram and Rom had enough of her sister's secrecy.

"Guards!" She didn't have the nerve to deal with her sisters right now. Two guards, looked horrified, came running out to the balcony. "Take them to their room. And wash your goddamn faces!" Both of the soldiers had their faces all drawn over by the white sisters. Each of the soldiers grabbed one of the sisters, who struggled and complained but didn't transform. Blanc had put a special bracelet on each of them, just like Vert, that prevented them from transforming and flying off.

"You're very protective of your sisters." Vert was making a calm observation. "I think that, too, is one of your nice qualities."

Blushing from the words, Blanc could barely handle her own thought process. "I'm..." Looking away, unable to say it when looking straight at her, Blanc pushed the words out. "I'm sending you back to prison."

Vert was so surprised that she only slowly opened her mouth, several seconds passing before she could talk. "Why? Because I went outside or met your sisters?"

"Y-Yeah, that's exactly fucking why!" Jumping down from the guard rail, she walked into her room, Vert right behind her.

"Blanc, wait!"

"No!" Screaming at Vert, Blanc sped up, almost running from Vert. She had made a decision, she had to stick to it. Vert was causing her to go crazy, so she had to get her out of sight. "**Guards**!" Shouting so loudly that a dozen soldiers came rushing into the room, White Heart pointed at the other goddess. "Take her to solitary confinement. Don't allow anyone in the castle to see her under any circumstances!"

"Blanc!" Shouting while the guards forcefully dragged her away, the white goddess grit her teeth. She despised herself for not being able to handle Vert after all this. As goddess, she didn't have the luxury to fall in love, not during a war. And the war would only end if Lowee was the only country left. There was no space for Vert by her side.

No longer able to hear Vert, Blanc looked around her room. It seemed awfully empty now and much too big. She had already gotten too used to having the green goddess with her. "**Fucking dammit!**" Yelling, White Heart slammed the ground with her fist, creating a shallow crater of several meters width in the middle of her room. "**Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!**" Hitting the ground several times more, Blanc fell to her knees at the center of the crater.

A single tear ran down her cheek. "Shit..." Hitting the ground again, her strength was no more than that of a normal girl.

=== END OF LINE ===


	4. Format: Lowee

******Follow me on twitter for updates on when a new chapter goes live. twitter/KuuTenko**

**Overheat**

_Execute: 10001100_

**Format: Lowee**

The pain in her arms was getting worse with every minute. The punishment cage really put it's name to shame once someone was in there. A large cage that was placed on a natural cliff next to a waterfall. Every few minutes, a mechanism that stored water would empty hundreds of liters of ice cold water over whoever was hung up in there. Three meters high, no matter how tall someone was, once their wrists were chained to the top, they couldn't do anything.

The brunette had been quiet so far and Noire simply wished she could vanish from the planet instead of having to live with the shame of wetting herself in front of dozens of people. Over an hour passed like that, each salve of water brutally ripping them from any sort of sleep they might have attained after ignoring the pain in their arms.

And finally, the brunette would talk. "He is gone. Are you conscious?" Noticing that someone was watching them, she had kept quiet until they were gone.

"Why did we have to end up in **here**? Couldn't you just say whatever you had to say to me before?" Noire was exhausted and extremely annoyed. The cages were bad enough, but the punishment cage was a hundred times worse.

"Because the cages are too far from each other to talk without being overheard. I'm IF. I used to be a traveling guilds member until the war. You're the goddess of Lastation, Black Heart, isn't that so? How did you end up here?"

"Through a river.. how does it even matter? Where is **here**, anyway?"

"I'm not surprised you don't know. Even I had no idea a place like this existed below the human world. This is the Gamindustri Graveyard, a place where the exiled, the fallen and the evil gather. It has probably been around as long as Gamindustri itself."

"How come nobody knows this place exists?"

"We're several kilometers below the human world. I got here when I was exploring a cave that was rumored to be a hideout for bandits that were preying on war victims. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by them. I'm strong but even I can't do anything against ten people armed with rifles. They knocked me out. When I came to, I was in one of those cages back there. That was two weeks ago. I've been up for bidding at nine auctions so far, but nobody wants to bid because I'm a member of the guild and a monster hunter."

"If you don't know how you got here, how did you learn about this place?" Noire was suspicious of the girl.

"By listening. They aren't exactly cautious of me learning about them since I'm always locked up and chained." IF was desperately searching for a way out but luck wasn't on her side. She was never unaccompanied, they would never let the merchandise out of the cages unless to stand at the auction and she had never seen more of the area than the storage area, the auction stage and the punishment cage. "What is the situation like on the surface?"

"The war is worse than ever." The question brought back memories of what Neptune had done to herself. Or whatever looked just like Neptune. The moment she thought of it, the mechanism triggered, hundreds of liters of ice cold water hitting Noire for almost the twentieth time. Her clothes were completely soaked, she was freezing and her skin was taking a pale color.

IF took it less badly, having been in the cage four times already prior to this. Once when she tried to make a run for it during the auction and three times when she tried to escape after someone had bought her, injuring her owner in the process, landing back on the shelf.

"Do you have any plan on how to get out of here?" Noire was hoping that the girl had brought her to this wretched place for a good reason.

"I was hoping you would have one. As a goddess, you should be able to beat these people easily." IF's binds were much more restricted than those of the others. The shackles on her wrists and legs were connected to a collar. If she moved too rapidly, she would choke herself with it.

"There is anti-crystal in my binds. I can't even materialize my sword, forget using any of my goddess powers." Noire was starting to feel really bad. The cold was getting to her.

"But it's odd.. they said a private bid of three million credits for you was handed in. So why aren't they taking you to your owner?" IF noticed that the goddess visibly twitched in fear when she said the word _owner_. "Sh, someone is coming."

The robot, again. Opening the cage and grabbing Noire, he left IF in there. Closing the cage again, Noire was taken away. "How am I going to get out of here?" IF was starting to think that she might not get out. As if they summoned the punishment, the mechanism triggered and soaked IF in icy water again.

Noire was starting to lose hope of getting out with whatever remained of her dignity intact. Looking around, she was taken past the auction stage, through a dark and cold tunnel that didn't seem to want to end. After what felt like hours, a deep purple glow was penetrating the dark of the tunnel, coming from beyond the exit.

Passing the corner and leaving the tunnel, Noire laid eyes on what she would later learn was the heart of the Graveyard. The capital city of the underworld, Pyraba. Oversized cables, their thickness putting skyscrapers to shame, hung from the ceiling far above, reaching all the way to the seemingly bottomless end of the cave. Towers of chaotic structure with impossibly many smaller cords connecting each other, uncountable facilities of varying kinds littering the landscape, everything was placed on a cliff of size so massive that Noire could only assume it was natural.

The closer they got, the more Noire felt an unnatural stinging in her chest. It wasn't until the purple lights of the capital started to illuminate the path before her that she noticed. The cave wasn't bottomless. A black mist so thick that it would block out even the darkness of a moonless night was covering the space beyond the capital. There was something... someone... incredibly powerful ruling that place.

"Where are you taking me?" Noire felt more unwell with every meter the robot advanced. She was almost longing to get back to the punishment cave.

"Quiet."

Reaching a bridge-like structure that connected the path they had advanced on to the capital, Noire noticed dozens of rundown buildings a few dozen meters away from the path. Even underground, not everyone could afford to live in the capital it seemed.

Stopping in front of the large gate, the robot waited for the guard to approach him. "Magic has ordered me to bring this in." Showing the goddess in his hand, Noire was in so much pain from the black mist, or at least she thought that was the reason, that she couldn't even attempt to get away, despite suddenly having the space to move.

The guard punched in his security code and the large, black, steel gate opened. Entering the capital, Noire felt like someone was brutally choking her, leaving her unable to breathe. The sting in her chest jumped from painful to excruciating. She lasted several seconds, able to see dozens over dozens of shady people going about their work, before she passed out, feeling like she was going to die.

=== OVERHEAT ===

What did she do wrong? The pretext of sending her to prison because she had gone outside or met Ram and Rom was just that; a pretext. Blanc's real reason was something differently entirely, she understood that much. But what? She had even started to to think about forgiving Blanc for humiliating her at first.

And now? She was in a room that was no more than a perfect square, nothing inside at all. No window, no source of light, only a heavy steel door that blocked the only exit. The walls, ceiling and floor were made of smooth stone, the blocks so neatly forming together that not even a hair could have penetrated the space between them.

Leaned against one of the cold walls, Vert rested her head on her knees, her legs pulled towards her body. She felt miserable. Even though she was constantly looking for a way to escape, for a way to pry information about Lowee from Blanc, she hadn't hated her company, now that she thought about it. She had always mocked Blanc for her lack of chest, causing her violent temper to surface, but without that, she had found out that the girl was actually a very cute and quiet person.

It was too much to say she had feelings for her. It was more accurate to say that she didn't have feelings of hatred towards Blanc. Given that she had nothing to do with herself but think about the last two days, Vert realized that it wasn't just Blanc who was at fault.

Always mocking her, she had been childish and, at times, cruel without realizing so. They had always been enemies of sorts, but before the war never like they were now. Recalling that moment when Blanc panicked after being called cute made her smile for a while. She hadn't just said that to test her. Despite how short she was... despite her lack of breasts... Blanc was very much a cute girl, something she had never thought about until that moment.

One possibility that she couldn't rule out entirely was that she might have come to genuinely like Blanc if things had continued. If they had never gone to war, if the peace talks had been a success, what would things be like now? Would she have continued to harass Blanc as before? Most likely. She couldn't be grateful that the war had shown her that Blanc could be a nice person to be around, for that there were too many lives being lost.

"It's been a while since I was unable to make sense of my own feelings..." Vert felt silly. She was Blanc's prisoner and in an even worse cell than before. It had been hours since she got locked up, and she hadn't heard a single sound from the outside since then. And still she couldn't completely hate Blanc for it after seeing how helpless she had been when she was forced to deal with her feelings.

From Vert's perspective, Blanc was clearly in love with her. She couldn't tell when it happened or why, but after seeing her reaction at that tea table, she was sure of it. Blanc loved her. A love that could never be. Not because they were goddesses or both girls, neither of that mattered at all. They both had their duties and obligations towards their people. Falling in love with the goddess of an enemy nation was equivalent to treason, to betraying the trust of all the people that looked to her for protection and rule.

Vert was fully aware that both Blanc and she could never betray the trust of their people. In that way, she pitied the girl for having fallen in love. As she thought about it, it became clear to her that this was the reason why Blanc had locked her up in solitary confinement. She didn't lock up only Vert but tried to lock her feelings up with her.

If that was the case, Vert feared that she might never see the light of day again. Staring into the dark, her lips opened slightly as if hope was trying to escape her body. Powerless and alone, Vert felt a kind of despair crawl up on her that she hadn't felt before. The despair that she had failed her people.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Lady Purple Heart, we must warn you that the transformation will be more severe as the project advances! There will be partial feedback loops that may prolong the duration of the transformation, but it will at the same time cause heavy damage to your body!" A researcher had finally come up with a way to stop her goddess from being forced out of goddess mode.

The technology was based on the P Project. Taking power from their goddess and storing it inside a reverse polarized transmitter, it would activate when needed and forcefully feed energy into her body, forcing the transformation to remain stable as long as there was energy running in.

"I'm fully aware." Walking past the scientist, her eyes were those of a beast. It was time she took back what was rightfully hears. With Lastation in chaos and Leanbox without ruler, her eyes were drawn north, towards the cold lands of Lowee.

Taking the elevator up, Purple Heart took the direct route to her room and the balcony. Planeptune had fallen behind in terms of raw technology but that was completely meaningless before their superior military power. The production of the first aerial squadron had been finished an hour ago and they were ready to be deployed. Flying vehicles, armed with powerful cannons, able to carry up to sixteen soldiers at a time. She had a hundred of those ships at hand and more were coming.

No matter how far Lowee's forces outnumbered them, they would not stand a chance. The dark of the night would be their cloak. An when they were done, Lowee's capital city would serve as a bonfire to be seen across all of Gamindustri, a warning for the other nations to surrender or face the same ultimate fate as Lowee and their goddess.

Arriving on the balcony, Purple Heart looked upon her forces, ready for deployment. "First Aerial Squadron!"

1600 Soldiers saluted simultaneously, calling out her name.

"Tonight we shall not only exact revenge on the wretched White Heart for polluting our lands but we will take back my beloved sister! For the longest time have the icy lands been our most dreaded enemy! We will rise up and destroy them for their impudence! Not only are they arrogant enough to think themselves more powerful than us but they possess the insolence to treat a Planeptune goddess like a common criminal, locking her up in their dredged prison!" While her speeches were very to the point, they never failed to ignite a flame of national pride and hatred for the other nations in her soldiers.

Rising up into the air and slowly flying past the ships that had assembled in formation, Purple Heart arrived at the very front. "I will be the arrow head to take their eyes! You shall be the spears and swords that will gut our enemy! You are the pride and power of Planeptune! You are the devout followers of the rightful goddess! You are my elite and you will not fall nor fail! **For Planeptune**!"

The people below, the common people, saw that a large battle was about to go down. The ships clouded the sky in the dark, blocking the light of the moon as they started to move north.

Passing over plains and rivers, passing towns, Purple Heart had no interest in small fry. After flying slightly more than forty minutes, she saw the capital of Lowee in the distance. "**Soldiers! Prepare for war!**" Her call echoed through the night sky as she rose her sword, appearing like a vengeful entity embodying war itself.

Lowee had not expected an aerial attack but sheer numbers of guards were their saving grace. Noticing the approaching fleet, Lowee entered the highest possible level of alert. Purple Heart heard sirens flare up as a warning of an approaching army. She knew it was far too late for them to prepare. "**Fire!**"

The first round of fire from the ships hit not the castle but the town surrounding it. Houses were blasted away, their residents inside incinerated instantly, Purple Heart's forces laid waste to the capital of Lowee and by her orders, they would not stop until all life belonging to the winter lands was completely eradicated.

Cannons fired again and again until Lowee finally responded with artillery of their own. Two ships were hit immediately, catching fire and starting to rapidly descent in a crash dive. Hitting the ground, each ship caused unimaginable devastation to the land.

The bombardment met with unexpected resistance when energy shields started to emerge all over the city, repelling the artillery. Parachuting into the capital city, it was a massacre. Civilians and soldiers alike were slain and killed brutally by the purple army. For every one of the elite that fell, several more Lowee soldiers and civilians died. The snowy city was covered in blood and fire within ten minutes of the battle starting.

Watching the onslaught from far above, Purple Heart raised her sword and a single ship advanced towards the castle on collision course. There was but one single person that would survive the siege of Lowee. If she was lucky enough to be found in time.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Vert had finally fallen asleep when the first salves of the cannons hit. Even in solitary confinement could she hear that there was some kind of battle going on outside. Hammering against the door, shouting, asking what was going on, nobody answered.

With a single powerful blow, Vert was thrown against the wall opposite to the door. She could barely make out anything with her vision blurry and her ears ringing like Blanc had hit her in the head with her hammer. Seeing several shadows run past the massive hole in the door, Vert saw something else. Blood. Not only her own, running from her temple and shoulder, but the blood of what had to be the guards, slowly seeping through the small opening beneath the door.

Rifle fire and screams of agony and death filled the hallways of the prison. Vert was pretty clear on it. Lowee was under attack, and by the looks of it, a pretty massive one too. There was no other way troops could get all the way to the castle prison otherwise.

Getting up, making sure she could stand and move realistically, Vert was for the first time in her life, and possibly the last time too, thankful that she hadn't been in a regular cell. Even if the bars had been blown away, she would have been chained to the wall, unable to do anything.

Barely fitting herself through the hole in the door, she cut her arm slightly. Standing in the hallway, she almost vomited from just the sight of it. Lowee guards, or rather their partial remains, were splattered over the walls and floor. Mixed in between them were one or two soldiers of a different type. Judging by their advanced weaponry, Vert feared that Lowee was under attack by Planeptune. Outside her cell, Vert could hear the thunder like impacts of artillery fighting artillery.

Looking ahead, she saw several soldiers run further in. Vert was fully aware now of what they were looking for. Nepgear. It was her chance to escape and get back to Leanbox. But first, she had to get rid of the _Jewelry_ Blanc had forced on her.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Release!" Undoing the binds on Ram and Rom's anti-crystal suppressants, Mina couldn't afford to hope that they would spare the sisters because they were still children. Until now, the barrier was still holding, but she couldn't tell how much longer she would be able to keep the soldiers out.

"Kill the infidels!" The soldiers had already killed dozens of guards on their way up and lost several of their own. Three of them were left and not a single Lowee guard was to be seen. A massive sonic boom almost blew out their eardrums when they detonated explosives to get through the walls instead of the door.

But Mina was prepared. She had clad the entire room into a magical barrier that prevented anyone from coming in or going out. Ram and Rom were back to back, scared but determined to protect Mina if it should come to that, each of them holding their staff. They had not fought in the war until now and had also never seen a battle first hand.

"I'm scared, Ram. What are we going to do?"

"Fight. Sis is counting on us to protect Mina. We have to be strong." She knew that it was a boldfaced lie but in times of need, even a lie could become the truth if the situation was desperate enough.

"Use the anti-crystal quake bomb!" One of the soldiers issued orders. "We'll just blow the entire floor!"

One of the soldiers sat down, producing a melon sized device from his large military backpack. "What about detonation?"

"We'll do it remotel!"

Armed the device, the soldiers suddenly keeled over, blood spraying from his chest. Six bullets had perforated his armor and killed him instantly. Looking up, the two soldiers spotted the shooter, wearing their own uniform and carrying a Planeptune custom issue rifle. "Kill her!" Both soldiers started to fire towards the traitor, who just barely managed to get behind cover in time.

Focusing on the assailant, the soldiers emptied half their magazine onto the cover before waiting for a few seconds. Noticing the nuzzle of the rifle poking out behind the cover, both activated personal energy barriers that deflected the incoming fire.

Taking aim again, standing side by side, both soldiers not just metaphorically lost their head. Mina had canceled the barrier while telling the white sisters to hide. Sneaking up on the enemy, she had completely destroyed their heads with point blank energy blasts. In times of need, Mina could be a devastating force. Preparing a large scale energy blast, aiming at the traitor's cover, Lowee's oracle was interrupted.

"Don't fire!" Mina recognized the voice. Before she could put a name to it, a blonde popped out behind the cover, her hands in the air.

But Mina didn't stop charging. She knew who Vert was and thought of her as an enemy. About to fire, both Ram and Rom jumped her, forcefully stopping her attack. "Lady Ram, Lady Rom, what are you doing? That woman is an enemy of Lowee!"

"She is Blanc's friend!" Ram only knew that Blanc would not let someone remain almost alone in her room if she didn't trust them.

"She is a good person!" Rom had taken a liking to Vert after she had played with them earlier that day.

"What are you two saying?"

"I've been prisoner here. You're right, I'm Lowee's enemy. But I'm also an enemy of what Planeptune is doing here. This isn't a war anymore, this is genocide!" Vert had stolen the armor of a dead soldier and successfully made her way up to the top level. She needed someone to undo her binds. "I will assist you in fending them off in exchange for my freedom."

"Only Lady Blanc can make that decision!" Mina was bothered by Ram and Rom clinging to her. It wasn't safe out there.

"Blanc is most likely fighting Neptune right now. Look around you, Lowee needs every bit of help they can get!"

Mina paused for a moment. She knew Vert was right, but she didn't trust her. But what choice did she have? Getting Ram and Rom out with who knows how many soldiers in the castle would likely be impossible. "What do you want from me?"

Pointing at the binds Blanc had forced on her, Vert walked towards Lowee's oracle. "Undo them. You made the sharicite and Blanc gets her power from that. You should be able to break through their protection and unlock them." Noticing something behind her, Vert whirled around and opened fire, hitting a stray soldier three times before he went down. "Hurry!"

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Trümmerschlag!" Materializing six massive metal fragments, Blanc used her ax like a bat to launch them against Purple Heart with an insane velocity, forcing her to evade.

She knew that she wasn't powerful enough to take a frenzied Blanc in an one versus one fight. Not like she was now. Looking at the attached to her left hip, she didn't want to use it now. But Blanc wasn't leaving her much choice. Taking it in her hand, she was forced to rapidly descend, evading a powerful swing of Blanc's. "Come back here, you sorry excuse for a fucking coward! Fight me, you bloodthirsty monstrous piece of shit!"

She remembered the details of the last time all too vividly. Not a single minute had passed since then that she was intuitively slightly afraid of using it again. But she had to complete the project. Even if the other nations surrendered, she could not rule for eternity without the project.

"Destructive Force!" Blanc fired a dozen white energy spheres from her left hand, surrounding Purple Heart. The goddess responded by drawing her sword and slicing cleanly through half of them before the others exploded. Protecting the vial with her own body, Purple Heart emerged injured and angry from the smoke of the explosion.

"Injection." Injecting the full vial into her thigh, it took five seconds before anything happened. The reaction was at least three magnitudes bigger than the one before. A massive magic circle formed below Purple Heart until it bursts into a million pieces. Blanc stopped in terror when Purple Heart screamed in terror, using her own fingernails to gouge deep holes into her arms and chest, blood rapidly leaving her body, creating a pool of it in mid-air, just below her feet.

Coughing up ash and blood, her eyes had turned completely red just before her hair started to burn wildly, setting her whole body on fire. Unable to scream anymore, the goddess was writhing in pain, bending back so far that it must have snapped her spine in half and still continuing to suffer. The blood she was losing started moving the moment a dark lilac glow came out of the self-inflicted wounds.

Blanc could barely believe was she was seeing, unable to hold in her disgust, vomiting everything she had eaten lately. No power was worth inflicting pain like that on oneself.

The lilac glow turning into a mist that slowly emerged from her body, it coated the goddess into a cocoon of pure magic, her blood forming the same magic circle that had burst at the beginning of the transformation. Powerful pulsing, as if something too evil and vile for the world to tolerate was about to be born, the magic circle broke apart again but forming glowing streams of blood that time, penetrating the cocoon and returning to where it belonged.

Before Blanc could act, a single blade, more than twice the size of Purple Heart's weapon, penetrated the cocoon, a woman with even bigger breasts than Planeptune's goddess and dark lilac hair emerging from it. Eyes that hid thoughts clearly not human, dark pink in color, locked onto Blanc. "Oh, you shouldn't have! A present? For me? You won't mind if I unwrap it, right?" Talking to herself, the woman disappeared on the spot.

Blanc was too slow to react. Fingernails literally scooped out her flesh and blood with a single swing. Immediately starting to bleed heavily, Blanc turned around, only to find the enemy gone again. "Stop fucking hiding you monster!"

"My, that's not very nice. I think I might have to punish you naughty little child." Appearing below Blanc, the lilac haired goddess grabbed White Heart by her ankle and started to whirl her around, throwing her east and disappearing immediately.

Less than a second later, Blanc was brutally kicked into the back, suddenly thrown west. "Explosion!" Cladding herself into white energy, the monster ran straight into a trap, kicking Blanc again and causing a massive explosion to go off.

Backing out of the smoke, Blanc had no idea how she would fight an enemy that was so much faster than her. She was getting overwhelmed. Noticing something from the corner of her eyes, Blanc looked west, seeing a green light in the night sky. Straining her eyes, she was shocked to see Green Heart, rapidly leaving the battlefield.

Blanc immediately regretted letting her guard down when fighting such a powerful enemy. Grabbed by her front bangs, her face was smashed into a knee, and again, and again, faster and faster until she could no longer tell when a hit ended and started. Her nose broken, Blanc stumbled back when she was finally released.

"Magnetic Bolt!" Unleashing four energy binds against White Heart, Lowee's goddess was suspended in mid-air, sprawled out. "I'll take your right arm first." Materializing a massive blade, she first put it atop Blanc's right arm, just letting it rest there. "You've been such a naughty girl. This might hurt a little bit. But it'll hurt me even more than it hurts you. Oh, silly me, it was the other way around."

Exerting tremendous force on her blade, Blanc screamed in pain when the blade started to cut into her flesh. "Ah... what a sweet tone. More, _more_, **more!**" Getting louder and louder, Blanc wildly threw her head around, trying to break free. The blade was about to hit bone when Blanc barely registered something else happening.

"Tower of Babylon."

Flesh, bone and nerves were obliterated, blood splashing on Blanc's face and body, when something completely destroyed the right arm of Blanc's enemy. The binds vanishing, the monster screaming in pain, Blanc didn't have enough clarity in her to keep herself afloat. Falling for only a few meters, someone caught her.

"Get a grip, Blanc, I can't fight **that** alone!"

Having her face slapped a few times, but not too hard, Blanc came to. Looking up, she saw Green Heart in pain while she was starting to regain feeling in her right arm. "You came back?"

"What do you mean? I never left! Someone had to take care of those soldiers that were killing your people!" Vert didn't have time for long explanations. Barely able to patch Blanc up for the moment, she was pretty afraid of whatever had attacked Blanc. "What is **that?!**"

"Used to be Neptune. Fucking idiot injected herself with some damn... I don't know! And turned into that boob monster there!"

Without her Tower of Babylon, a massive long range sniping energy laser, she couldn't have freed Blanc. She was very happy that she had put some time into developing new techniques for the war. "I have your back!" Vert understood perfectly that trusting each other, enemy or not, was not something they could be picky with right now. Stopping Planeptune from turning Lowee into a gigantic smoldering mess was their shared priority. Vert wasn't a fan or supporter of genocide.

"You have to be fucking kidding me!"

Stopping her screaming, the goddess with lilac hair smiled wide, her eyes giving off an insane vibe. "I didn't know I was getting a second toy!" While she was looking at them, her arm wound had already stopped bleeding. Drawing her sword out, she vanished again.

Without waiting for her to appear again, Vert and Blanc started to circle, back to back, watching the surroundings. What neither of them expected was that the attack would come from every direction at once. Slashing, teleporting and slashing again, Vert and Blanc were both taxed to the maximum with just parrying the deadly attacks.

"Vert, I need some time so I can blast those fucking tin cans out of my damn sky!"

"We're a little preoccupied with not dying!"

The onslaught ended just as Vert finished her line. Looking around, they quickly found the lilac monster above them, staring down at them as if they were no more than ants. "Spears of Punishment!" Raising her remaining hand over her head, the transformed goddess summoned dozens of dark purple spears all around her enemies. She didn't seem bothered by her missing arm at all. "Punishment time!" Laughing, swinging her arm downward, the spears instantly accelerated to incredible speeds.

"Blanc!" Grabbing the white goddess and hugging her, Vert executed one of her most drastic techniques. "Aeon Storm!" Having Vert's big breasts forced in her face, Blanc lost her entire field of vision. Creating a, in theory, impenetrable sphere of storm gusts around herself, Vert hoped to block the omnidirectional attack of their enemy.

Feelings the spears get trashed by the winds, Vert sighed out of relief. Without warning, a hand grabbed her throat. Almost thinking that it was Blanc for a second, Vert felt an evil aura radiate from it. Looking up, the enemy goddess had forced her way through the barrier, suffering horrible wounds in the process, only to choke Vert to death.

Her throat about to be crushed, Vert desperately tried to get away and intensify the barrier, but she would not be able to do either in time. She was looking death in the eye.

"Weiss Zerstörung!" It was insanity to use that attack with someone else right behind her. Unleashing a single punch with the energy of a long range artillery strike against the enemy, Blanc was covered in blood coughed up by purple haired goddess. Vert suffered as well, having to cushion the recoil that Blanc was supposed to take.

"You... two..." Coughing up even more blood, she could feel that her internal organs had taken way too much damage. "I'll come over to play again." Vanishing, no trace remained of her.

"Vert, you alive?"

"Barely..."

"Let me go then, dammit!" Blanc's face was fiercely red as Vert had kept on holding on to her.

"I can't." Before Blanc could completely go bonkers, Vert explained herself. "I'll fall. I'm about to run out of energy."

"Tell me that sooner, you idiot!" Descending to the ground, Blanc still had business to take care off. Only about twenty ships remained. She needed to destroy them before they caused any more damage. "Wait here!"

Not saying anything and lowering her head, Vert watched Blanc fly off. Forcing herself to stand, there was still something she had to do.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Mina was feeling sick to the stomach. The last enemy ship had just fallen and finally, the Planeptune troops were being killed. But at what cost? Parts of Lowee were in ruins, others were still burning. By just the looks of it, she guessed the number of causalities to be above half a million. The damage in credits was insurmountable high. For Planeptune to launch an attack like that was horrifying. The entire war was horrifying.

The streets were crawling with people that had lost everything, some including the lives of all those they had ever known. The damage was immense, not only materially but also psychologically. There had been no mercy or differentiation between soldiers and civilians. Children were shot to death the same way as adults. Houses were burned without meaning. It wasn't an act of war. It was the act of monsters.

Lowee had lived through it's darkest hour, but at the cost of many lives. But it also brought unity to its people. There was not a single human to find in all of the snowy lands that would not speak out about their hatred for the monstrous Planeptune. Within one night, the nation to the south-west had become the most hated enemy the nation had ever known.

Out of all it's people, their goddess was one of those that took it the hardest. She hadn't just lost many of her people, had her capital city ravaged by the war, she had also lost the person that had saved her life and likely many people of Lowee.

Returning to the spot she had left Vert at, Blanc could not find her anywhere. No matter how much she looked around, the chaos, destruction and wreckage of Planeptune's ships covered every direction. It wasn't until she fell to her knees, believing that Vert had simply abandoned her and fled, that she noticed a thin trail of blood that led away from the spot.

Following it, carefully monitoring the ground, Blanc followed the trail for almost a minute. What she found was beyond all her expectations. Losing all feeling in her legs, Blanc plummeted to the ground, her eyes wide open. "No..."

What Blanc saw was an enormous pool of blood coming out below the wreckage of one of the ships. She recognized the destruction that had brought the ship down. It was one of those she had felled with her ax, after leaving Vert behind. "No... no..."

Tears started to well up in her eyes. After all... after all that? After surviving together, after she saved her life. "No... there... there is a chance this isn't Vert... right..." Transforming, forcing herself up, she lifted the wreckage that covered the pool of blood. What she saw below was enough to make her stumble back, lose control of her transforming and fall to the ground, throwing up.

Shredded green cloth were amidst the blood, squashed flesh right next to the cloth. Covering her face in her hands, Blanc felt like she was about to go insane. "What... what have I done? This can't be happening.. why.. why... why did this... why is this happening to me? Vert!" Shouting, Blanc was desperate to believe in a miracle. "**Vert!**" Shouting as loud as she could, there was no answer but the burning of the ships. "**Vert**! **Answer me**! **Vert**! **Vert**! **Please**! **Vert**!"

She kept shouting again and again until her throat would no longer produce her voice.

Kneeling on the ground, Blanc's eyes were lifeless and empty. She had decided to lock Vert away to remain a goddess true to her people. She still loved her, she was completely aware of that. And now, all of that was gone. And it was her fault. She had taken Nepgear prisoner. She had locked Vert away. She had destroyed the ship that crushed her when she couldn't even fly anymore.

Blanc just sat there, unable to think, unable to cope with the fact that Vert was dead and it was her fault. She could never apologize to her. She could never tell her what she felt. She could never even see her again. She had once heard a idiom; that you only notice how much you love someone when they're gone. Blanc understood why they said that.

She would have to live with the regret and guilt of her actions for the rest of her life. Her life... Blanc realized that now, more than ever, her people needed her to be strong, to encourage them. But no matter how much she wanted to fulfill their expectations, she couldn't, not now. The image of the bloody remains next to the green cloth had burned itself deep into her mind. An overpowering image, drowning out all other aspects of the chaos around herself.

Sitting in front of the wreck, Blanc was eventually found by Mina, who had been looking everywhere for her. She found her goddess on her knees in the middle of a puddle of blood, her eyes bloodshot from crying. No matter how much Mina would talk to her, no matter how much she shook her, Blanc wouldn't respond. Slapping her face achieved nothing either. It wasn't until she tried to figure out what had caused her to become like that, that she asked the right question. "Where is Lady Vert?"

"I killed her." Blanc's lips moved automatically. Her voice lacked any emotion whatsoever and she still couldn't avert her gaze from the wreck.

"Lady Blanc, please get a grip. What happened to Lady Vert?" Mina couldn't believe that her goddess would actually kill Leanbox' goddess.

Raising her arm and pointing towards the wreck right in front of them, Blanc looked down. "I killed her, Mina... I destroyed that ship and it crushed her."

Her oracle was at a loss of words. She had never seen her goddess so shaken and sad. Picking her up and carrying her away from the wreck, Blanc stretched her hand out towards Vert one last time before closing her eyes and hiding her face against Mine's chest.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Slowly coming to, Noire found herself on top of a lot of cushions. Her head felt like it was about to split in half. Noticing that her shackles were gone, she tried to transform, without success. There was nothing on her body that was stopping her, causing her to look at her hands, confused.

"It is futile. You will never achieve your goddess state in this place, ruler of Lastation. Not now, and soon, never again." The voice was as cold as ice, but there was a clear emotion in it. Contempt.

Looking towards the source of the voice, she found a woman that was nearly naked, laying on a pool of pillows. Completely white skin, yellow eyes and bright pink hair, all accompanied by a very skimpy, black, outfit. Noire had never seen a person with skin that white before.

Getting up, Noire could barely stand, her whole body slightly numb. "Who are you? And where am I?"

"The dominion of the Dark Goddess, Arfoire. I am the interim ruler of this place, Magic. You will do well to memorize these things for you won't ever leave here again."

"What are you saying? I'm not even tied up!"

"All of this realm is within Lady Arfoire's reach. It strips you of all of your power while it empowers us. You are even weaker than a normal human while you dwell here. And there is only one exit, which is protected by the dark legion." Getting up, her enormous breasts bounced slightly up and down, having an almost hypnotizing effect on Noire. "You will become one of us now. _Look at your right arm_." Raising her voice, Magic watched in amusement as Noire's body obeyed the command without her mind being able to refuse. "That symbol is proof of my ownership of you. Nobody will dare touch you, but should you try to escape, the guards or the dark mist will kill you. As you just noticed, I have also control over your body."

"What did you **do** to me?"

"The question should be, what will I do to you? _Come here and kneel before me_." Ordering the goddess around, Magic held out her hand, creating a beautiful necklace, bearing a large red ruby, from nothing. Putting it on Noire, the necklace immediately got tighter, preventing the black goddess from taking it off. "Rip that necklace, and you will die. And only I can remove it safely."

"What is this for?"

"Maybe I will tell you one day, if you please me. Now rise, it is time for my bath." Standing up herself, Magic nonchalantly touched Noire's face with her hands before she did. "Oh yes, you should be grateful that I declared your auction void and had you brought to me. You would have ended as just another sex slave. Now, you get to live in the dominion, among the rich and powerful. In a few years, you won't even want to leave the dark capital anymore."

Noire, unable to transform and confused beyond belief, followed the unknown woman for now. The bathroom was adjacent to the one they had been in. It only took Magic seconds to take off the little clothing she was wearing. "Strip. I will not tolerate you entering the bath with clothes. You may cover yourself with a towel if you feel embarrassed, although there you should feel no need to."

"What **is** this place? How can there be such a massive city so deep below the human world?" Noire kept her eyes averted from Magic, refusing to strip.

"Unlike the human world above, time flows significantly slower down here. Some that live here are older than all of the surface nations. Now, strip. I do not desire to force you to do every little thing. Surely you must have bathed with other women before."

The bath was more of an indoor pool than a regular bath. Several stone benches were placed inside for additional comfort. The entire pool was filled with hot water, steam slowly raising from it. Noire believed she had seen something like that in an historic book once before. Under the strict yellow eyes of Magic, she eventually stripped, quickly covering herself with the largest towel she could find.

"How long have you lived down here?" She watched the pink haired woman descend into the bath. Behavior, speech, mannerism, all pointed towards her being royal. Noire couldn't help but be impressed by that even if not the fact that woman _owned_ her now.

"I see your manners are not quite what the surface merchants believed them to be. Do you not realize how impolite it is to ask a woman of her age?" Soaking in the water, Magic looked to Noire from the corner of her eyes. "Join me. I do not expect you to act like a common servant and wash me, do not worry."

Slowly getting into the water, Noire sat on a stone bench opposed to Magic. She tried hard to avert her eyes but she was a little jealous of her breasts. They must have been bigger than even Vert's. She didn't think she would get anywhere with being rude, so she decided to act the part. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Even a land as great as ours will succumb to stagnation and boredom at times. You are to be my courtesan, who will accompany me at all times and serve as my partner in conversation. At times, I might also demand other things of you, but we shall see when the time comes."

"Why me? Were there not plenty of other girls available?"

"Do you truly believe someone of my status could keep one but a goddess as their courtesan without endangering my status? This is a land of where the strong rule. I might be powerful, but even I am not invincible. With a goddess at my side, people will fear my power more than they ever have."

Noire was starting to understand. She was a trophy, a status symbol, and she had fallen right into a political game of the underworld. There had to be some way to get out, she just hadn't found it yet. But she surely would. "What did you mean when you said that I would soon be unable to become a goddess anymore?"

"This place taints all that live here. It leaves it's own unique mark on your soul. It will take time to taint a goddess but there is nothing to fear. The process will not change your personality, mind or body. It will merely strip you of your powers as all influence Celestia ever had on you is removed."

Noire found it all to be a lot to take in. But at least she had avoided the worst fate, ending as a sex slave. With someone like Magic, and her position as interim ruler, she would be able to find a way to escape, she was sure.

"If you do manage to find a way to escape both the workings of my necklace as well as this realm, you will have earned enough respect that I won't pursue you beyond the reaches of the graveyard. I cannot read your mind, but after countless years, I have grown to become excellent at reading people." Smiling while bending forward and touching Noire's cheek again, Magic's yellow eyes looked straight into Noire's. "And you, my dear, are very easy to read."

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Where is my sister?" Nepgear, finally having returned to Planeptune, was eager to see her older sister.

"I'm here." The voice came from the elevator that had just arrived top level.

Flinging around, Nepgear was shocked by what she was looking at. Purple Heart stood before her, her unnaturally narrow, her bodysuit shredded in places and one of her arms just dangling, as if she had no feeling in it at all. But all of that paled to the one thing that had shocked every single guard on the way.

Blood. Purple Heart was head to toe covered in blood. Not a single spot of skin was untainted, as if she had dived headfirst into a pool of it. There was also an unbearable stench of death radiating from her.

Neptune walked straight past her sister. "Ready my bath. A troop of Lowee soldiers followed me after I retreated. I need to wash off their stink."

"Neptune, thank-" Nepgear closed her mouth so abruptly when Neptune glared at her that she almost bit her tongue.

"I'm Purple Heart, not Neptune." Her eyes narrowed even more. "**Never** forget that. And take a bath, you stink of Lowee."

Nepgear had always worked hard to help her sister, to support her in whatever she was doing, without questioning her leadership and judgment. But after seeing the attack on Lowee, after seeing her like this and witnessing her reaction to her own name, she was having doubts.

Even so, it was much too late to do anything about it. She had sworn her loyalty to her sister, and she would abide by that oath until her death. She would follow her to the end of the world, or wherever her path would take her. And still, she was starting to grow afraid of her. The secrecy, the experiments, the merciless killing of civilians... she was nothing like the kindhearted Neptune she had grown up with.

"Sister... how did you kill the Lowee soldiers that followed you?" Nepgear had a really bad feeling about all that blood.

"I ripped their limps off before beheading them. Why do you ask? Do you want me to teach you how to do that?" Purple Heart didn't even bother to look at her sister. She was just a bonus. The real goal had been to destroy Lowee and she had failed. But there would be other battles and plans. The war was far from over. She would **purge** all the filth from Gamindustri eventually.

"Just curiosity." Nepgear couldn't believe what kind of monster her sister was turning into. When the war had started, she was somewhat desperate to come up with tactics of her own and relied on rather questionable methods.

As things went on, those methods got more and more unethical, dangerous and outright monstrous. Hoping that her sister would notice what she had become eventually, Nepgear kept supporting her, even adapting to the cruel and merciless warfare of Planeptune.

Walking away, Neptune ignored the slightly appalled looks of the guards. She could understand why they would make faces like that. Being covered with Lowee filth like this was more than just disgusting. Stripping off her clothes, she first stepped below the shower, unwilling to dirty the bath itself like that. Rinsing her hair, she sighed. It would take time for the stench to vanish completely.

What she didn't notice was that the very tip of her braids were discolored but not from the blood. Her normal, lilac colored hair, had taken on a deep, almost blue, purple color.

=== OVERHEAT ===

The news of the massacre of Lowee spread like a wildfire. Within the hour of the attack, Gust had known that her deal was going to fly out the window because of this. There was no reason for Black Sister to go to the capital if the one she was looking to rescue was no longer there.

"Compa, do not tell Black Sister of the attack on Lowee yet. Gust will handle it." Jumping down from the stool she stood on for store keeping purposes, Gust walked in circles, thinking of what the best course of action would be.

Selling Black Sister to Planeptune, possibly? It could affect the trade agreement, despite the legal paperwork already being in place, so that wasn't an option. Not to mention that dealing with Planeptune could be seen as treason.

Given how focused Black Sister was on Purple Sister, Gust couldn't see anything she was able to offer that would change her mind. Handing her over to Lady Blanc as promised would net her no profit whatsoever. The best course of action was to stick to her deal and help Black Sister escape. Even if she didn't go to the capital city, the agreement had not detailed that she would go there, only that Gust helped her get away.

Compa was extremely worried about the state in Lowee capital city. "Gust, I will go to the capital. There must be very many people that need help."

"Gust will not stop you. It is the right thing to do for a nurse. But Gust will remain here and care for Black Sister until our deal has been completed." Watching the sweet girl pack her things, Gust was worried about her trading partners in the capital. "Take as many of Gust's potions as you can. They will need all of Gust's help they can get." She was a businesswoman but not cruel. If she had wares that would otherwise just sit on the shelves and there were people that needed them, she would send them there. If they learned that it was Gust from Atelier city that helped them, surely they would choose her shop over others if they ever were to be in Atelier.

Going into the backroom, Gust looked over Uni's condition. She was better than the day before, but it would still take time for her to get well enough to travel. "There is a lot of commotion outside... did something happen?"

"Planeptune has attacked the capital city of Lowee. Gust's information says that Purple Sister has escaped and rejoined with the forces of Planeptune."

"Nepgear has?" Trying to get up, Uni immediately fell back into bed. She was feeling a lot better, but there was something about the bullet wound that was stopping her from recovering like usual. She just couldn't quite put her finger on what was odd.

"Planeptune has killed hundreds of thousands of Lowee citizen with inhumane means. They are rumors that say the green goddess from Leanbox, Green Heart, was seen fighting against Planeptune forces with Lady White Heart. Many worry that the attack on Lowee was caused by an secret alliance."

"I cannot imagine Vert and Blanc going along. They despise each other." Uni found it even weirder than Vert would be allowed to assume goddess form.

"Gust cannot confirm or deny the rumors, so Gust won't make any decisions based on just rumors. Purple Sister escaping however was confirmed information, it is a fact. Gust will still help you escape from Lowee forces. It isn't Gust's problem what you do after that."

"Why is it taking so long for me to heal?" Uni couldn't keep her curiosity in check.

"Gust thinks that you were poisoned by anti-crystal. It is possible that extremely tiny fragments of the bullet were absorbed by your body and the anti-crystal made you sick."

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"

"Because it makes no difference. Knowing what made you sick is not important if all you can do is wait. Gust has work to attend to now but Gust will check on you later. Compa will be going to the capital city, so don't be surprised if you can't see her around."

Annoyed with the little girl's attitude, Uni pouted a little before laying back and processing the new information she had been told. She didn't know Neptune well, but she found it hard to believe that Nepgear would go along with a plan as monstrous as killing several hundred thousand civilians.

What in the world was going on in Planeptune?

=== OVERHEAT ===

Noire couldn't believe what she was doing. Being led by Magic, she was dancing among dozens of other high class couples. Wearing a specifically for her tailored evening gown, Noire turned a lot of heads, much to her embarrassment. A tiara of silver in her hair, earrings with black diamonds and of course the necklace that Magic had forced on her. Magic had demanded she would match her own style of twin-tails, Noire felt a little bit silly looking. Wearing black high heels and equally black stockings, she was already known as the _Black Lady_ in whispers and rumors around the castle.

"It appears that you are most talked topic about this night. I was right to bring you to this function." Whispering to Noire while she was leading the dance, Magic spotted someone she absolutely had to talk to. Finishing the dance quickly, she gently touched Noire's hand after letting her out of the dance hold, a sign that she had to follow.

Noire had learned extremely quick that if she was going to find a way out of this place, she had to at least pretend to obey Magic. It wasn't particularly hard, considering that she really was mostly serving as a conversation partner for the, so she had realized, incredibly bored and knowledgeable Magic. Not once had she made as much as a single move that even implied any lewd intentions.

"It is surprising to see you here today, Ryghts. I was under the impression that you were busy dealing with the war on the surface. Was I mistaken?" Magic slightly lifted her hand to signal Noire that she should standing slightly behind her.

Noire was slightly impressed by the looks of the girl. She skin was not quite as pale as Magic's, but she was clearly used to living underground. The pale-silver hair and the green eyes made her a remarkably unique sight, even among the already very unique dance function she was participating in.

"Not all of us have the luxury to only attend these functions when we feel like it, Lady Magic. And I am indeed very busy with the surface war. We have suffered an unfortunate setback lately. I am here about the report that you personally intervened into the auction earlier today. Can I assume that you had good reason for interfering with my business?"

"My reasoning is beyond your control, Rei. There was an item on sale that I could not let fall into the hands of a commoner, so I intervened. Do not fret, you will be compensated for your loss. I have arranged for two tons of anti-crystal that await collection by your men. Now that we are speaking about your men, how is **he**? Has he proven useful to you?"

"I most appreciate your hospitality. As for him, he is making himself useful. He is hard to control though. But enough talk about business. Would you not like to introduce me to your company of tonight?"

"Very well. Noire." Saying her name was enough to make the black haired girl step forward, slightly lower her head and bow, exactly as Magic had taught her to do it in case she would introduce her to someone. "May I introduce, the goddess of Lastation, Noire." Magic noticed the twitch in Rei's eyes and glared at her with such force that the girl took a step back.

"Rei Ryghts. Former goddess of Tari, Viscountess of the Dominion. Pleased to meet you." She refrained from holding out her hand.

"Pleased to meet you." Noire had never heard of a nation called Tari and she had been a goddess for a while.

"Now, if you may excuse us." Slowly walking away, Noire followed the pink haired queen at the exact same pace, always a few steps behind. Passing by security to reach the reserved seats for royalty, Magic sat in the most triumphant chair that Noire had ever seen or imagined. They had passed a set of stairs, so they were able to look down on the crowd of the underworld's elite. "Noire."

"Yes?"

"Would you not like to inquire about Rei Ryghts? I am sure that meeting a former goddess must be most intriguing to you. Please, sit by my side." A number of smaller chairs were prepared next to Magic's, still very much expensive and comfortable. Sitting in the one to the left of Magic, Noire wondered if it was smart to stick her nose into the past of another goddess.

"What happened to her nation?" How much worse could her situation get, really?

"She ruined it. At the height of their prosperity, Rei fell prey to the delusion that it no longer mattered what her people desired and pursued the goal of complete conquest of Gamindustri. Eventually, her people would rise up and tried to get rid of her, as a goddess that ignores her people serves no purpose. Mad with power, she eradicated her entire nation, falling from grace. The intensity of the loss of her lands and much of her power split her personality in half." Making a meaningful pause, Magic's eyes locked on Rei, who was dancing with a black haired woman of considerable infamy.

"She arrived in this realm a long time ago and it shaped her. At her first arrival, she was a meek girl with no self-esteem, pride or grace. It was disgraceful to just look at her. Over time, she learned the manners and ways of the dark court. She is an extremely fascinating woman, even though her personality has remained unstable at times. You will do well to not be near her if she should assume her goddess form."

"Didn't you say that I would be unable to transform after I've stayed here for a while? How is she able to?"

"Inside this realm, she is not able to do so. However, there are ways to eliminate the taint of our Dark Lady Arfoire, temporarily and permanently. These are closely guarded secrets arts of the dark court however. To this day, I do not know where and when she obtained the social power to obtain the knowledge of those methods."

"I haven't see the Dark Lady. Does she not show for these functions?" Noire tried her hardest to sound noble, like Magic. It would probably come in handy at a later time.

"Dark Lady Arfoire rarely graces us with her presence. For one that has lived as long as she has, there are many things that lose their appeal. Noire, is there anyone out there you would like to call to your bedroom at a later point? I can make arrangements for nearly anyone to see you." Looking to her courtesan, Magic showed a devious smile. "I advise against requesting Ryghts to see you, however. Even I cannot guarantee that you would remain unharmed if you were to attempt to sleep with her. She despises all goddesses, past, present and future."

Noire quickly shook her head before realizing that she was violating etiquette. Slowly turned her head to the side and lowering it equally slightly, Noire closed her eyes. "I'm not brash as to request a night companion."

"Very good. I might have considered asking you to come to my chambers later if you had chosen a favorite." Smiling again, the queen of Pyraba continued to watch the dances, a goddess of her very own by her side, patiently waiting for a chance to learn of information of the dark court's secret method to remove the taint that kept her weak. It was likely the only chance she had of escaping this place.

=== End of Line ===


	5. Overclock: CPU

******Follow me on twitter for updates on when a new chapter goes live. twitter/KuuTenko**

**Overheat**

_Execute: 10010110_

**Overclock: CPU**

The alarm sirens were blaring at max volume, soldiers rushing through the destroyed hallways, following the trail of gore and death that was leading from the laboratory. The entire capital of Leanbox was on high alert. A single infiltrator had reached the Artificial Goddess Laboratory and freed Yellow Heart.

Her consciousness half-faded from days of torture and pain, her powers ran wild, destroying and killing everything in sight. A gigantic X-shaped hole marked her point of exit, the dismembered bodies of the scientists that had hurt her so much on the ground. Rage, fear and panic dominated her mind.

Cutting cleanly through a soldier, slashing her to pieces, the goddess was surrounded quickly, anti-crystal nets thrown over her. But the prolonged exposure to the forceful transformation had caused her powers to grow exponentially. What she had lacked while under the care of Planeptune, she had acquired from Leanbox. Wild, uncontrollable, power.

Breaking free with an ear piercing scream, nobody saw her as a living thing anymore, aiming at her with, for goddesses, deadly weaponry. High concentrated reproduced anti-crystal bullets, enough to kill her within seconds.

"Destructor Claws!" Whirling around, the entire world seemed to stop for a moment. With a ferocious splashing sound, not only her enemies and captors were cut to pieces but also the entire area around her. With blind rage controlling her, she fought with complete disregard for her own safety. Jumping up, Yellow Heart slashed her way through several floors, not even solid steel withstanding her power and claws.

A wild animal that was driven into a corner could turn into a wild beast. Yellow Heart was no different from that right then, with the exception that the entire capital of Leanbox was **her** corner. Reaching the top level, she laid her eyes on the balcony, the exit to her nightmare. But there was a single, last enemy that held her back.

The final defense layer of the Leanbox capital, their Oracle. "This ends here." Holding a long staff with a crest at the top, Chika pointed it towards the escaped goddess. She couldn't let her get away, not when they had finally brought the projection to fruition. She was frightened by the raw power of her prisoner, but she had to stop her. Leanbox future depended on that project.

Standing completely still when Yellow Heart roared and rushing towards her, Chika slammed her staff into the ground. "Damage Control!" With a fierce burst, countless green energy tentacles rose from the ground, wrapping themselves around the yellow goddess, slamming her into the ground.

But it wasn't enough to suppress the sheer physical power of the goddess. Lacking in more refined methods of fighting, once enraged it was difficult if not close to impossible to subdue her without equally high levels of physical prowess. Ripping the tentacles one by one, Chika took a step back. She didn't want to hurt her prisoner because it could affect her ability to serve as a power generator, but it was worth the risk. "X!" Raising her staff and creating a single spiraling mass of energy above her own head, Chika waited until the last second to maximize the charging process. "Connect!" Firing the whirl, Yellow Heart rushed straight into it, taking the blast without any defensive whatsoever.

Not even her power was enough to withstand that. Flung to the side, injuries were trivial at best, but she had lost all her momentum. An Oracle stood at the center, at the core, of any nation. They created the sharicite and had complete control of the power being generated by it if they needed to. This was only possible within relative proximity of the crystal. "Damage Control!"

Evading the tentacles by focusing on speed, to escape, Peashy didn't try to overpower the green haired woman. The tentacles were faster than she was and the Oracle still stood between her and freedom.

And Chika was losing her patience. It would temporarily weaken the goddess protection on the land, only for a few hours, but she still had to do it. Grabbing her staff with both hands, Chika jumped on and threw the staff into the ground, the crest glowing brightly. "Cease & Desist!"

From virtually every possible angle she could imagine burst forth the green tentacles, hundreds if not thousands of them, capturing her, immobilizing her, preventing her to move as much as a muscle. Just when Peashy thought it couldn't get any worse, a brutal energy shock ran through her system for several seconds, much worse than what she had endured during the experiments.

Losing control of her body and consciousness, Peashy fell flat to the ground, falling out of goddess mode. Chika had sweat on her forehead. She was possibly the most powerful Oracle in combat, having undergone extensive training due to the lack of a Candidate's presence in Leanbox. Outside the capital, she was completely powerless though. Ready to call the guards, Chika held on to her staff, just to make sure.

Before she could even take a closer look, Chika's vision started to fade and her body went limp. Crashing to the ground, her eyes glassy and her mind almost unresponsive, she could only see white boots stepping past her before she passed out completely.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Mina wouldn't let anyone see Blanc. No matter how important it was, she couldn't let them through. Because her goddess was still in shock. Spending the night contemplating what had happened, Mina asked the soldiers to search the area, in dire hope that there was some kind of trace of Lady Vert.

But the search turned up empty and there was nothing she could do for her goddess. Judging by her reaction and what the guards had told her, she didn't just accidentally kill any goddess. She killed the girl she was falling in love with, or even was in love with.

Something like that would devastate anyone. Standing a few meters away from the bed, Blanc just sat there, like a marionette that had it's strings cut.

Lowee's goddess had trouble comprehending that Vert was dead. One minute, she helped her fight off that monster, saving her life. And in the next, a crashing battleship had smashed her to bits. A year ago, she didn't think a goddess could really die from something like that. But with the rise of the anti-crystal research and weaponizing of the same, things had become as dangerous for the goddesses as they were for normal soldiers.

"Lady Blanc... you need to be strong and show the people that we're not going to lay down and let Planeptune finish us off." Mina didn't want to be cruel, but as Lowee's goddess, Blanc had a job to do. Ram and Rom weren't old enough to substitute for her yet.

"You didn't fight that... thing, Neptune became, Mina. That was beyond the power of just one goddess. How can I be strong if I couldn't protect myself, never mind my people?" Blanc's self-esteem had suffered a hard blow. She didn't expect there to be someone that could beat her so easily. Even with Vert by her side, they only managed to make her retreat while suffering heavy damage.

"Lady Blanc!" Mina didn't want to see her goddess like that.

"I'm sorry Mina, but can you leave me alone for now?" Blanc knew what was expected of her but she couldn't handle those expectations right now. Managing to get up and walk to the table Vert had sat at just before she threw her back in prison, Blanc regretted that now more than ever.

"Was I stupid to let her out in the first place? Or was it stupid to throw her back in because I thought I couldn't handle being around her?" With hanging head, Blanc sat on Vert's chair, looking at the looming dread that was closing in from the south. Planeptune would stop at nothing to destroy the other nations the way it looked. Lowee was already rebuilding, eager to strike back against the genocidal aggressor, but their goddess lacked the drive.

Burying herself in hatred for Neptune was just another path to destruction. She had lived long enough to understand that she had to find a way to get past her grief before she could resume her duties. But that was much easier said that done. And even if she managed to come to terms with what happened, what then? Launch an attack on Planeptune? She could think of only two ways to take down that monster. Sacrifice elite soldiers to shoot her to death with anti-crystal weaponry, or fire a deadly radiation blast at her. Assassination was something she didn't **want** to consider. Lowee should not stoop as low as Planeptune.

"Lady Blanc. I believe you should watch this. Someone illegally uploaded this footage to our central network." Opening a video window, Mina stood next to her goddess, hoping that seeing the report would wake her up.

A blond girl in a large pink dress adorned with skulls was holding a microphone with the initials ING on them, the International News Gateway, a small but independent group that had become known for their on-scene coverage of the war in the last six months. In the background, behind the girl, were dead bodies, rubble that used to be houses, and people desperately carrying their few meager belongings.

"Last night, the nation of Planeptune launched a military strike against the capital of Lowee. According to eye witnesses, there were as many as a hundred airships, carrying soldiers and heavy artillery. Within seconds of their arrival, without a declaration of battle or war, Planeptune troops fired upon civilian quarters, thousands of people, unaware and peacefully sleeping in their beds, dying within the initial bombardment." The girl turned around and walked down a small path the residents had cleared to allow helpers access to the collapsed buildings further in. Pointing to the right and the left, the girl spoke up.

"While the fires have been quenched now and daylight has returned, this area was an inferno during the attack, burning people to death in their own homes if they were unfortunate enough to escape dying quick and painless deaths by the impacting shells." The scene changed again, depicting a small pile of bodies that Lowee soldiers were still carrying out of rubble, checking every single one for life signs. "Lowee's military prowess was not challenged but bypassed. There was no battle, only massacre."

Getting closer to the pile, the girl's aura changed considerably. "Planeptune troops were witnessed shooting and cutting down civilians without mercy. Children that begged for their life after seeing their parents get brutally murdered were heartlessly executed and left to rot in the street."

Blanc felt sick, watching the actual havoc that was reigning in the streets. She just didn't understand how Neptune had changed like this. She had always been arrogant and strong, but in the last few weeks, she had exponentially grown more cruel and amoral. There was not a shred of humanity in her actions.

"Reparations alone will cost the nation of Lowee hundreds of millions of credits. Planeptune, at this very moment, has declared the battle a great victory. How can the pointless killing of hundreds of thousands of civilians be a victory? How can the mindless slaughter of children be a victory?"

"Mina, turn it off." Blanc had seen more than enough.

"We have received unconfirmed reports that the goddess of Leanbox was seen at the scene of battle, fighting an unknown goddess, aiding Lowee's Lady White Heart in battle. What abomination could Planeptune have created to force two warring goddesses to join forces against it?" The image switched and showed a blurred, distant image of the events Blanc had witnessed first hand.

"Mina... stop it." Blanc didn't want to go through that again.

"Having asked residents what their thoughts are on the Planeptune attack and also the possibility that Lowee might have received support from the highest level of Leanbox, we now present you a few select answers."

The image switched again, showing an exhausted mother, handling her two children, who kept asking where their father was. "Leanbox and Lowee have traditionally never been allies, but against an evil like that, I want Lady Blanc to take any help she can get."

Next was a teenage girl, sitting in front of a collapsed house. " Planeptune is the devil. They hurt the rest of the world, they're treating us not even as humans." The image didn't switch but move to an old man that helped clear rubble despite obviously being in pain. "Planeptune... this reminds me of a war between our nations a long time ago. Back then, we didn't have fancy things like air ships and wars were fought on the battlefield, not in people's homes. If Leanbox really helped us, I would like to thank their goddess for doing so."

Blanc couldn't stop the tears that ran down her cheeks. Standing there, listening to her people's feelings and thoughts, it was hard to not run away from it all.

The next image showed two smaller children, possibly ten or eleven years old. "I saw it! Green Heart saved White Heart when she was in a pinch! My mom told me that Leanbox is evil but I think Green Heart is one of the good girls!" "I think so too!"

"For our final answer, we interviewed a military commander that survived the attack and happened to be inside the castle when it all happened." The blond girl with the pink dress was briefly on screen before the image blurred slightly, showing her and decorated soldier wearing uniform, the helmet blocking her face.

"Planeptune troops were using modified weapons that I have never seen before. They broke through our protective gear with ease. I was lucky to be knocked out of the way by the impact of an artillery strike. But I saw what happened. Lady Vert, whose whereabouts prior to the attack I cannot tell you about, approached me and took the gear of a dead Planeptune soldier. As a security measure, she was wearing suppressor devices that prevented her from transforming without prior clearance from the top brass. I later heard from a reliable source that she prevented enemy troops from killing Lady Ram, Lady Rom and Oracle Mina, receiving clearance from the Oracle to go out. I am sure that many people will attest to her appearance inside the town afterward, mercilessly killing Planeptune troops, saving countless civilian lives."

The image returned to just the blond girl in front of yet more rubble, the castle of Lowee in the background, clearly visible. "As you all have heard, there is undeniable proof that Leanbox, or at the very least their goddess, was involved into saving the lives of Lowee citizen. With the war intensifying and Planeptune committing unspeakable acts, we, the ING, suspect that an alliance between states will come about soon. We eagerly await Lastation's response to this possibly alliance of North and South." Facing the camera directly, the girl nodded once. "I am Abness, and this was an ING special report."

No rumors. No speculation on what Vert was doing in Lowee. No word of Vert having vanished after the battle. It was purely a report to expose the grotesque warfare that Planeptune had brought to Lowee.

Blanc's face was completely hidden behind her hands, tears running down her arms. But she understood now that she didn't have time to grief. She had a country to lead, a war to drive and revenge to enact.

"Mina, call Lastation and send them the footage. It doesn't matter if one of our citizen already leaked it. Contact their Oracle directly and give them this report. I want a truce until Neptune is dealt with. I'm willing to return Black Sister to them peacefully if they agree. I'm sure Noire will see reason."

"I'll contact Kei then." Mina was not opposed to a truce. It would give the people a much needed rest. She was very worried about Leanbox's Oracle, Chika, though, since she was very obsessive and protective of Vert. If she learned that her beloved goddess was dead, Leanbox would go into a state of complete chaos.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Fortify the borders! We can't let the monsters proceed any further!" Giving her orders, Kei was completely overburdened with her duties **and** the ruling of a nation in war time. But the real catastrophe was that late in the night, the sharicite had suddenly changed colors and turned black. Its link to Noire had been severed completely.

That alone was not a catastrophe. But with the war raging on, monsters had time to multiply unhindered. The very center of the world, where the town of Metas used to be, had become a breeding ground for all kinds of creatures. With the development of new weapons, new types of monsters appeared as well, mirroring the volatile state the world was in. People's faith in their own goddess, hoping that she would lead them to victory and protect them, was stronger than ever before, keeping the monsters at bay.

But with that protection gone entirely, Lastation had to use every bit of it's actual physical military might to protect it's borders and citizen against rampaging monster attacks. To make matters worse, it was a battle of attrition, the worst kind for Lastation.

"Oracle, there is a message from Lowee's Oracle. She is requesting to speak to you." One of many messages Kei received at the time.

"Mina? Put her through." Kei and Mina had known each other for a long time. Despite the rivalry between their nations, they had a better relationship than Planeptune and Lowee. Getting to see the enemy Oracle on a big screen, Kei wondered how she had been, but it wasn't the time to play catch up. "This must be important."

"You must be aware of the attack Planeptune launched against our capital last night. ING did coverage of the aftermath and Lady Blanc has requested that you broadcast the report to your citizen. You will understand why when you see it."

Receiving the file, after running it through state of the art scanning programs for evil programs embedded, Kei planned to watch it later. "Is that all? I will see what I can do about the vi-" Kei was rudely interrupted.

"Lady Blanc wished for a truce. Because of the severity of Planeptune's action, their existence poses more threat than any of the other nations combined. She wants to put a hold to their genocidal behavior before another capital city is attacked."

Kei was starting to get very uncomfortable. Just what in the world had happened at Lowee? She knew of the Planeptune attack but no details of it. "Give me a few minutes. Stay in the line." Checking that there was no hacking going on from Lowee's side, Kei was slow to trust anyone these days, she opened the video.

Mina patiently waited, seeing Kei's face become ridden with horror. She must have understood. If Lowee, who had the greatest raw military force, was taken for a ride like that, Lastation wouldn't stand a chance against a full force attack like that.

Finishing the video, Kei knew she couldn't make the decision herself, even if she wanted. But Mina already expected that. "Lady Blanc's troops are currently monitoring Black Sister in Atelier, just north of your borders. In exchange for the truce, Lowee will release her to you peacefully and unconditionally."

There were many reasons why Kei could not refuse that deal, the primary one that she **needed** someone to provide the goddess protection. That Uni was not Lastation's goddess but just the candidate was a problem but nothing she couldn't fix. She **was** the Oracle after all.

"Lastation will form a truce with Lowee as soon as we have made the necessary preparations. We will require Lady Uni to even start, though." Kei didn't know if she should divulge an important detail such as Noire being missing. She could tell from the sharicite that she hadn't died, but there was something isolating her from the rest of the world.

"I will inform Lady Blanc." Mina paused briefly, detecting something in Kei's face. "What is going on in Lastation, Kei? I have never seen **you** overworked."

"Are you asking as a temporary ally?"

"I am asking as an old friend and as ally. For now, Lowee and Lastation are in the same boat. Planeptune needs to be dealt with and we can't afford to be hostile towards each other."

"We are being overrun by monsters from the central area of the world. At this point it's useless to hide it from you. We lost track of Lady Noire and her protection ceased. We will need to inaugurate Lady Uni as the new goddess according to emergency protocol before we can make nation governing decisions."

"Do you know what happened to Lady Noire? Has she died?" Mina was extremely worried. If both Vert and Noire had died at the same time, things were **more** than just dire. It would be the beginning of the apocalypse.

"No. Something else has happened, I just don't know what." Noticing a red light from the corner of her eye, Kei excused herself. "Hold on." With screens all around her, two dozen in number, Kei was constantly issuing orders, taking reports and confirming orders for the third time. That line however, was reserved for emergencies. "What is it?"

Looking at what was the outskirts of their realm, Kei faced a soldier, her face stained with blood. "We're being pushed back! We're down to two lines of defense. Several monsters that resemble ancient dragons but are far more powerful have joined the ranks of the smaller ones! We can't deal with them by ourselves!"

Kei wasn't well versed in offensive fighting, but if push came to shove, she was the strongest tactical defender among all Oracles, possessing the unique _Data Drain_ skill, forcefully adjusting the biological parameters of any inhuman creature she targeted. But that was all useless that far out. An Oracle's power was only as strong as the distance between them and the sharicite they bonded with. In the sharicite chamber itself, not even a goddess would be a match for them. The price for using their power was high though.

"Are there any reserve troops still available?" Kei couldn't think of any but she didn't have a 100% view of the military forces right now.

"We're stretched thin as it is! No other unit can offer any assistance!" The soldier reported back, seconds before a massive explosion both terminated the soldier's life and the connection. Looking desperate, Kei saw no choice but to override the security protocols of the UMD and force the activation without the goddess approval.

"Kei." Mina had heard the whole thing. She had exceptionally good ears. "I will ask Lady Blanc to send the full force that is stationed in Atelier as a cleanup operation." Not waiting for an answer, Mina terminated the connection.

Relieved that Mina had made her proposal just in time, Kei hoped that the inauguration would work. When more than one goddess was synched to the nation's sharicite, a battle for dominance could break out. With Noire gone and her connection severed, Uni would be in full control. If Noire returned, they would have shared ownership of the nation. Not a desirable solution.

=== OVERHEAT ===

An existence as old as the world, the proverbial embodiment of darkness, the woman slept, her gown of black silk covering most of her body. Never aging, never acting, she was but a pillar of support for the world at large. It was rare that she woke, only if there was danger that threatened to disrupt the balance of Gamindustri.

Her throne chamber was small and filled with purple curtains, her large and luxurious bed kept behind. Only a handful of select few had access to this inner most chamber of the Graveyard, hidden well within the dark court.

The woman's breathing rustled through the silent air, the ever immobile curtains creating an atmosphere of absolute repose, the dark aura that emitted from her body slowly flowing over the ground, like a shallow river, leaking through stone and carpet alike.

"This is Arfoire." Magic's voice was a mere whisper. The captured goddess of Lastation, Noire, stood by her side, finding it difficult to breathe. While she had gotten used to the dark aura inside the capital, she was almost choking on it so close to the source.

Kneeling before her empress, Magic whispered a single word to force Noire into doing the same. "Lady Arfoire. I, Magic, have come before you today to beg for your wise counsel."

The deep breath the woman took was like a booming sound in Noire's head. The completely white skin, the purple hair that resembled Neptune just a little bit... the black haired goddess was unable to look away. And she could **feel** when the ruler of the Graveyard opened her eyes.

She had felt that sensation before. Pure, distilled fear. When Neptune transformed and turned into the monster that killed her soldiers, she had felt similar to this. But now, it wasn't just fear of what the enemy might do to her. She could tell that she was before an entity so powerful, so ancient, that it could eradicate her life with just the click of her fingers.

The red that was glowing through the dark shades of the room, the sudden gust of wind that rustled the curtains but did not touch the visitors, Noire instinctively understood that this woman was as much part of the world as the earth her nation stood on. No matter what, she would never die, she would never be eradicated, for her existence itself was part of creation. For the first time in her life, Noire felt genuine reverence for a living thing.

"**What brought you here, Magic?****"** The voice was like a echo inside their own heads, not reaching them through sound from across the room but directly inside their mind, an understanding that transcended language and age.

"One of our own has committed taboo. She has defiled one that has fallen from history and brought the defiled to the surface world. She is resurrecting in an incomplete state, causing a collapse of balance." Magic had no need to give names. No matter who it was, even in the underworld they had rules that could not be broken without repercussion.

"**Make the defiled whole again and all will resolve itself.**" A much clearer answer that Noire had expected. In most novels, being like this would give cryptic answers that were hard to understand. But this was a very simple answer.

Satisfied with the answer, Magic tried to raise her head but could not. The pressure that exerted from Arfoire increased more and more, pushing the goddess next to her on her knees, clearly suffering. "**It has been so very long since I have met a goddess.**"

Noire felt the red eyes not just stare **at** her but **inside** of her, peering at her memories, at her innermost thoughts and desires, her fears. Her whole body trembled under the sensation, under the sheer pressure that the entity was pushing on her. She couldn't breathe anymore, the dark mist wafting over the ground like ice on her skin.

And finally, it was over. Feeling violated, Noire was shaking to her core. No matter what kind of power anyone had, there was no way to attack this thing. It wasn't as like the humans, the oracles or the goddesses... she was... different. Arfoire was not just a goddess like Neptune, Blanc, Vert or she was. She was_ Literally a Goddess_, one that had the power to shape reality. That was the impression Noire got. Unable to see, unable to move, Noire could barely hear and feel.

She felt someone pick her up and carry away, far from the source of the dark mist. Her pulse was low and she could feel her consciousness fading. Was this was dying was like? Being laid down on something soft, Noire could hear two words. "Illegal Distribution." Foreign lips touched her own, something indescribable being forced down her throat. But the more she swallowed, the better she felt.

Finally able to see again, she looked into Magic's yellow eyes, her lips on her own for only another second before she rose up, sighing heavily and sitting down. "I should not have brought you to see Dark Lady Arfoire." Magic hadn't thought that it would be so damaging for the goddess. "You have my apologies on this matter. Rest. I have given you some of my life energy but it will take time until your body has expelled the concentrated taint of our Majesty."

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Commander, a large troop of Lowee soldiers approaching from the north!" One of the scouts reported to their superior at the front lines. From the distance, various instances of _Open Fire_ were reaching them, the war against the monsters slightly going out of control.

"They're here to help us. I don't know what the top is thinking, but I'm under direct orders from the Oracle to aid them." Looking to the west, the commander was uneasy. She did have her orders but there was no formal declaration of an alliance between Lowee and Lastation.

With a booming sound, a single white light sped past, several dozen meters above them. The commander almost dropped her weapon. "Is that...? Give the order to retreat! We're just going to be in the way here!" With another booming sound, two other white lights followed the first.

The soldiers are the front line separated in horror when they got their order a little late. Without breaking her fall, White Heart used the ground to come to a solid stop almost instantly,creating a crater several meters in radius in the process. "Get lost." Blanc glared at the Lastation troops that anxiously aimed their guns at the goddess. "I said get lost!" Yelling, the soldiers retreated. If the goddess had wanted, she could have taken them all out with ease.

"Ram! Rom!" Shouting, she called for her sisters. Due to their endless nagging, she figured that killing monsters was not part of the war between humans and she could tolerate them participating. The two lights that had followed her soared in a circle above her, slowing down. "Do exactly as I told you!"

Both of the sisters were transformed, holding their staffs, giving their sister a quick nod. Circling a few more times, they build up more and more accelerated, Ram and Rom connected with their free hand, flying side by side.

Facing easily over a hundred monsters of varying threat levels, White Heart raised her ax. After Mina had approached her with the bad news that Lastation might face severe civilian causalities due to Noire's disappearance and their small military force, Blanc was forced to recall the images of her own nation suffering at the hands of Planeptune. She didn't want Lastation to go through the same ordeal.

Flying over the monster hordes at breakneck speed, Ram looked to her sister. "We're going to impress Blanc so we can help her in the war."

"I'm ready when you are." Rom didn't want to continue being the sheltered kid she had been treated as for the past six months.

Reaching a particularly densely crowded zone, a small plain between two hills, they started to circle again, directing their staff towards the ground. With each circle, more and more lines of a massive magic crest appeared in the air, a downward maelstrom of magic energy protruding from the sisters. "Rom!" "Ram!" Both of them turned in the middle of the air, reversing their trajectory in full force. "Dimension Shredder!"

The crest burst into thousands of pieces, raining down on the enemies, each piece creating a small sphere of twisted space, completely destroying all organic and inorganic matter that was hit. "We did it, Rom!"

In the distance, White Heart was facing the largest monster she had ever come across. It was similar to an ancient dragon but had three heads and the lower body of a dog, combined with the upper body of the ancient dragon.

Parrying the initial blow by it's front leg, Blanc unleashed her full power. "Halbmond Vernichtung!" Thirteen blade beams emerged from her ax, flying through the air at unpredictable trajectories, the beast completely ignoring the attack and trying to devour White Heart whole. "Don't be so fucking arrogant, you piece of shit!" Not bothering to use her ax, Blanc slammed her fist right onto the nose of the beast, causing it to howl in pain. "Drop dead!" With a terrible sound, each of the previously unleashed beams cut through the flesh of the monster, completely destroying it. Seeing that her troops had arrived, Blanc hacked away at a few more monsters before the first of the scouts had arrived. "Spread out. If an unknown type of monster appears, use the prototype R-bombs. I can always clean the mess up later."

Rising in altitude, Blanc knew that this was far from over. There were a lot more monsters to kill. Some of her troops were already en route to bring Black Sister to Lastation. Gust had protested but ultimately had no choice but to accept it. With Rom's powerful healing magic, they managed to improve Uni's condition to a point where transportation was possible if risky.

Deep above enemy territory, Ram and Rom found out just what exactly the was causing the onslaught of monsters. A creature, over a dozen meters tall and shaped like a tower, was constantly releasing large slime spheres that released a monster after a few seconds. There were sixteen types, varying in size. "Unless we take that out, they will just keep coming. Are you ready, Rom?"

"Can we really do this? It's so big..."

"We'll use the technique Blanc taught us!"

"Isn't that too risky?"

"Don't be scared, Rom, I'm with you. As long as keep moving really fast, like Blanc said, the monsters won't be able to touch us!" Ram was excited to prove her worth. Unlike her sister, she specialized in destructive magic. Together, they had the power to unleash devastating combo attacks.

"I trust you, Ram."

"Of course. You're my adorable little sister!" Grinning, Ram let go of Rom and started to accelerate. Despite it being a combination attack, they had to be separated to set it up. Circling around the bottom of the construct, Ram got faster and faster, creating a literal ring of light around the monster as she reached her maximum speed.

Following her older sister, Rom accelerated as well, starting to circle around the top of the construct. Moving too fast to properly see what she was circling, Rom was quite happy about that because she thought the thing looked quite disgusting, even from the distance.

Both of them together created the upper and lower end of a massive cylinder of light. But they didn't go unnoticed by the monsters. Their speed was so high that no creature could actually follow them with it's eyes, but they could **sense** the twins. Trying to hit, slash or stab either of the White Sisters, Rom was the first to get scared.

"Don't slow down!" Firing several fire blasts against approaching low level monsters, Ram knew that they were almost done. "Rom!" Slowly ascending, taking a trail of light with her, the ring of light persisted, like a physical object. Rom descended at the same time, taking a trail with her downward. Both of them reached the middle point at the same time, suddenly facing a threat they hadn't expected.

One of the new monster types, a flying egg with a large eye, grotesque mouth that was seamed with razor sharp teeth and two wings on each side, it approached the twins who were now circle around the middle, passing each other several times every second.

"Spear Flare!" Ram attacked the creature, launching a flaming rod directly at it, hitting it's eye and blinding the monster. "Rom! Now!"

Holding out her hand, Rom felt her sister's hand take her own, both of them reversing their direction and breaking out of the middle ring, creating a sonic boom in the process. "Wired Finish!" The trails broke off, the cylinder shaped energy mass now completely encompassing the construct, tightening up until the insides were being crushed by the violent forces of the attack. With a sound that came straight from their nightmares, the construct was squashed more and more until nothing remained but the energy pillar, now dissipating. Out of breath and feeling dizzy, Ram returned to Rom, taking her hand, both of them ascending higher into the air.

Over forty kilometers to the south, Blanc was taking care of the second construct. Lastation surveillance had spotted them and relayed the info to Lowee troops, forming a powerful alliance of raw manpower and information networking. She had already rendered half of the construct inoperable but it was draining both her energy and stamina to do so. She was going to finish it in one go. It would cause significant damage to the land around the construct, but it was uninhabited, so she didn't care.

Ascending several hundred meters, reaching an altitude of roughly a kilometer. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Blanc's eyes narrowed. She had used a partial version of her next attack on Neptune already so she knew the theory was sound. But this would be the first time that she would actually execute the full power attack.

An aura of white energy started to cover the goddess, slowly flowing into her ax, which she raised over her head. With each second, the ax grew and grew, ten times as big as the goddess herself within seconds. Seeing the off the charts energy readings, the COC in Lastation issued immediate withdrawal orders for **all** troops, Lastation and Lowee, in the region. The damage the attack would cause was unpredictably high.

Panting, Blanc still fed energy into her weapon, the size of it as big as a mansion by now. But she needed more. Seeing two white lights head towards Lastation while raining destruction over the ground, she knew that her sisters were out of the damage area in a few seconds.

The soldiers, both her own and those that would soon belong to Uni, were watching the immeasurable weapon from kilometers away, raising through the sky, the goddess herself invisible to the naked eye. Few started to pray to their respective goddess, hoping that the attack would not kill them all.

And finally, she was finished. Her weapon extended to two hundred times it's normal size, it resembled an ax that could be used to fell a tree the size of the world, not a weapon any kind of mortal would wield. Holding the shaft with both hands, Blanc looked down on the construct, pride and a certainty of victory in her eyes. "Eat that you filthy monster! Welten Spalter!"

The weapon descended, for Blanc like it was in slow motion, for the soldiers like it was falling. The impact robbed the world of all sound, flattering the construct so utterly and completely that nothing was left. And it was not just the construct that suffered total annihilation. The shock wave and pressure of the titanic weapon hitting the ground obliterated every living thing within several hundred meters, sending an explosively fast traveling dust cloud in every direction. It seemed like the end of the world had happened.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"What are you getting at Kei? My sister is missing and cut off from the sharicite? Is that even possible?" Uni could stand but she was still a bit dizzy. Healing magic was powerful but it was also risky. Pouring alcohol into a wound and burning it out was not as healthy as letting it heal after disinfecting it.

"She might be inside a room that is completely lined with anti-crystal. I really have no idea how this happened. But we need you to succeed your sister, right now. Lastation is completely without the protection of a goddess. Unless we inaugurate you soon, we will be overrun by monsters. Lowee has released you, unconditionally, for the truce. If not for them, we would have had to force the UMD into activation and risk destroying Lastation if it went wrong, or evacuate the country except the capital city. You understand, don't you, Uni?"

"But you told me a long time ago that it takes months to prepare for the inauguration!" Uni had staggered back in front of the mountain of work that was to do for it.

"Which is why we're taking a shortcut this time. If we had any other choice, I wouldn't force you to go through this, but alas there is none. Lowee has to protect their own borders as well, and we cannot be without a goddess."

"What about my sister? What will happen when she comes back?"

"You cannot be unbound from the sharicite once you've been made a goddess. It will be a rare case, but both of you will have to rule together. Legally, decisions will need to be approved by a majority vote between us three." Taking a step towards Uni, Kei grabbed her hand. "We have to hurry." Looking to the guard, Kei didn't like this at all. "Bring **her** up. Take care not to undo her gag until she is inside the sharicite chamber."

"Who are you having brought up?"

"A former Leanbox idol. We took her secretly hostage a few days ago, on my orders. She is hiding it, but she is a survivor of the Tonelico massacre over fifteen years ago. I don't know the details, but the village was wiped off the map by an unknown force because it's villagers have the special ability to use magic hymns. We're using her as a substitute to sing the binding protocol in your place."

"Isn't that dangerous? What if she screws up?"

"She would doom millions of Lastation citizens to be killed by monsters." Kei was certain that the idol was not going to do that. She was not being treated badly either. They kept her locked up in a guest room for VIPs, forcing her to wear a special choker that, as long as it was worn, kept her mute.

Standing in front of the sharicite, Uni couldn't believe it was all happening so fast. She never thought she would succeed her sister like this. "It doesn't feel right doing this..." Nervous, Uni didn't know anything about the process. And she didn't want to usurp her sister like this. But if refusing meant that she would be responsible for millions dying... refusing was not an option.

The soldier finally returned, bringing a blue haired girl with her, leading her inside. Kei and Uni stood near the sharicite inside the dark chamber. The girl had never been inside such a place before and was amazed by the multitude of data codes that were floating around the walls.

"You know how to use_ EXEC: Linker_, don't you?" Kei had her doubts that there was any among the survivors of that village that couldn't use it.

Nodding, the girl pointed at her choker and shook her head. Kei stepped forward, created a small number pad in front of the girl's throat and entered a sixteen digit code. With a snapping sound, it came off. "You didn't have to do that... I wouldn't use my... my ability... to hurt people..." Ridiculously nervous, the girl looked to Uni. "I'm 5pb."

"Real name, Lyrica Tonelico." The citizen of that village all shared it's name as their family name. "I'll give you the summary. We need to inaugurate Black Sister as the new goddess of Lastation. Due to the nature of this rush job, we need your help to execute the linking protocol. You can do that, right?"

"I don't like being prisoner but... I have no choice, do I?" Lyrica stepped up to Uni. "I don't want innocent people to die. It will be very painful for me to use the protocol instead. Are you ready?" Now that she was going to sing, her personality shifted significantly. She was looking much more confident in herself.

"Don't look down on me. I'm still the sister of Black Heart!" Looking to Kei, Uni's bickering side showed. "Let's start already, Kei."

"Change into your goddess form." Walking up to Uni, she pulled a small knife from her pocket, first poking her own palm, then Uni's. A few drops of blood started to run from their hands immediately. "Put your hand on the sharicite and focus on the flow of the energy inside."

Doing so, Uni was almost knocked unconscious the moment her blood touched the orb. A violent pulse ran through her body, like being hit by massive steel pillar traveling at high speed. If she had been in her human form, it would have killed her.

"Lastation, granting root access." Kei, her hand on the sharicite, was preparing the sphere to accept Uni. "Confirming lack of Goddess. Confirming lack of divine protection. Confirmation positive. Running access protocol one. Create new goddess entry. Open consciousness. Access DNA data of non-Oracle entity. Write DNA data to memory. Write Memory to consciousness. Close consciousness. Entering global permissions. Registered global permissions." Kei's mouth moved so fast that Uni had trouble understanding the actual process. "Preparing for installation."

That was Lyrica's cue. Opening her mouth, Uni was thrown into a different world. Floating in the dark, the space around her started to take color, like a visualizer as Lyrica started to sing. She could feel a single warning from Kei inside her mind. _"Whatever happens; don't talk."_

_Fou paks ra, diasee, sarrifis hyzik tes dius yor... _

Uni fell to her knees, her hand forced in place by Kei, when Lyrica started singing, pain of a magnitude she didn't think she could live through running through her body. Each and every single word reverberated inside her head, the colors around her drowning out the darkness, the sharicite starting to glow in a blindingly bright, silver light.

_Rrha ki ra tek wim tes yor. _

_en weel waath dius manaf, Yat! _

Uni felt like her body was being torn apart. Going from feeling horribly feverish to being on the verge of freezing to death in seconds, each word, each tone, each syllable resounded inside her body. At the same time, she felt fragments of a connection coming together, like the first log of a wooden bridge that would span across a raging river.

_Wee yea ra enne ar fee, ar fee, Lastation_

_Was yea ra frreie yor wart en chs manaf an yor... _

_Synk sor al memora en knawa Lastation_

Feeling sick to the stomach, Uni could hear a million voices coming together, all of them talking at once, some louder, some quieter, some screaming, some crying, some whispering, some yelling, some desperate, some grateful. It wasn't something she could handle. Blood started to run from her nose, Uni's hand was still held in place by Kei, who just stood by, her eyes closed, focused completely on the inauguration process. She knew that the hardest part had yet to come.

_Was au ga chs mea eterne manaf _

_Rrha ki ra tie yor ini en nha. _

_Wee ki ra parge yor ar ides. _

_Wee ki ra parge yor ar ides. _

_Ma ki ga ks maya yor syec _

_Rrha ki ra tie yor ini en nha. _

Uni's eyes rolled back when a surge of power started to stream inside her body. It was drowning out her sense of self, her awareness, her memories. She was being wiped clean. Losing everything she ever knew, ever held dear, ever desired and valued, everything she hated, nothing remained but a blank slate of pure power. Drool ran from her mouth, her eyes rolled back so far that she could no longer see, her breathing barely there, her heart beating so hard that she it was close to bursting.

Lyrica's song grew even louder, the dark space shining in thousands of different colors. The height of the inauguration was reached. Facing Uni directly, the blue haired girl focused on the soon to be goddess, trying her hardest. The hymn had been changed considerably by the modern nations, to include modern translations of the lyrics, making it easier on the goddess candidate to go through the process as it was more gradual and less extreme. And she was singing the first iteration of the hymn ever to be, used for the very first goddesses the world had ever known.

_Whalt tim 0 chs, Diasee! _

_Wee ki ra parge yor ar ides. _

_Wee yea ra enne ar fee, ar fee, Lastation_

_Wee yea ra enne ar fee, ar fee, Lastation_

_Wee yea ra enne ar fee, ar fee, Lastation_

Uni could no longer sense or feel anything. Her body was but a vessel for the immeasurable power the sharicite contained. In a state like that, no living being could last more than a few minutes before the power would run wild and destroy the vessel.

_**Fou paks ra, diasee, sarrifis hyzik tes dius yor... **_

_**En chsee fwal, fwal mea. **_

Reaching the final verse of the hymn, Lyrica fell to her knees, panting, the colors turning to black. She didn't know what would happen now, but she did what they had asked of her. Passing out a few seconds after seeing Kei open her eyes, Lyrica briefly wondered what a real inauguration looked like.

"Accessing empty memory. Access granted. Creating Goddess Unit Interface. Creation successful. Accessing consciousness. Access granted. Writing consciousness to memory. Confirming writing consciousness to memory. Writing in process..." Running the process through herself, Kei felt that she would be out of order for several hours after all of this was over. "Consciousness successfully inserted. Sealing access. Restoring biological functions." Looking at Uni, the girl seemed to come to, very slowly. It was an excruciatingly painful process to do the inauguration like this. But it normally lasted for several days, sometimes over a week. To do it like this was not dangerous, just incredibly painful and taxing on the Candidate and Oracle. "Restored biological functions. Running link termination sequence."

Uni had regained consciousness, unable to remember why she was on her knees. She had just stood in front of the crystal and Kei ran some kind of DNA code. Looking up, Kei was as pale as a ghost, cold sweat running down her forehead.

"Link terminated. Sequence finished. Releasing root access to goddess." Finally letting go of Uni's hand, Kei collapsed on the spot, barely conscious. "Uni... you're our goddess now. I need... a nap..." Losing the remainder of her consciousness, Kei was shaken slightly by Uni, who was confused.

But she could feel it. There was a much more powerful connection between herself and the sharicite now. She could feel things she couldn't feel before. Creating a small reflective magic circle in front, she looked at herself. She was not quite the same anymore. She was a little taller, her chest was now the same size as her human form, her eyes were now vividly showing the mark of a goddess and her hair had gotten just a little bit longer. She certainly didn't mind the slightly changed look.

Touching the sharicite the same way she had seen her sister do it, Uni was pleasantly surprised. "Goddess of Lastation, Uni. Granted limited root access."

"Status of divine protection?" Uni had to know if all the trouble they had gone through just then was actually worth it.

"Divine protection is deployed and holding back 99,92% of all monsters."

Taking her hand off, Uni slowly picked up Kei. She would come back and get the Lyrica girl, too, but she had to take her Oracle out first and then talk to Lowee's representative. To her surprise, she didn't need to look far. Standing out on the balcony was Blanc, having forgotten about the impressive view the goddess of Lastation had. It reminded her very much of one of her novels that depicted a city much like this one, covered in steam-punk elements.

"Blanc." Uni, now a full-fledged goddess, greeted her equal without any title. She earned a indifferent glance. Putting Kei on the couch that stood in the room before the balcony, Uni stepped out. "I'm grateful you came to Lastation's aid."

"I'm not here to be friendly with you. We share a problem and I didn't want to see millions of people dead if I could help it. That is all there is to that. I expect you to return the favor, should the need arise." Blanc didn't intend to make nice and get all cuddly with Lastation. They were still the enemy. But the enemy of her enemy was her friend. "Before we talk, access your central network and watch the report on the attack Planeptune executed on Lowee last night." Blanc turned her back to Uni, knowing that she wouldn't be crazy enough to turn on her **now**.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Why did you save me?" Noire couldn't quite come to terms with why she did it.

"What reason did I have to let you die? You have done nothing but please and entertain me. It was careless of me to bring you before our Dark Lady. She has always been deeply invested into the goddesses of the surface."

"I'd like to know what you were talking to her about." Noire had her own theories, namely Neptune, but she had no proof.

"A whisper had carried disturbing news to my ears. It said that one of our own, one that belongs to our dark court, had defiled a forgotten one." Magic saw the confusion in Noire's eyes. It wasn't surprising. If they didn't know about the Graveyard, they wouldn't know about the world even below it. "You know that this place, our realm, stretches beyond just Pyraba. But even among the dark court, not many are aware of the existence of a second place, the true, original, graveyard, where the forgotten ones rest."

"The forgotten ones?"

"There are three ways for a goddess to leave the surface world. The first is the most permanent and simply death. To cut off your head would certainly kill you and erase all traces of your self. The second way is a well guarded secret. Once a candidate succeeds their predecessor, the old goddess does not die or remain at the side of the new goddess. They are called by the Dark Lady Arfoire, their bodies destroyed, their remains stored as data, but their _self_ is preserved eternally deep below this castle, in the **real** Graveyard. Only the interim ruler and Dark Lady Arfoire can access that place."

"So goddesses of the past are still around, as data and their... _self_?" Noire didn't quite know what Magic referred to with their _self_ but she had a pretty good guess. Their soul, their sense of being. That what made them the person they are.

"You can see where this trail leads, can you not? One of our own has taken the data of a goddess past and has given it to one on the surface. The data has traces of the goddess's sense of self, but that is to say, if I were to take only your data, all it would remember were fragments of your personality as goddess. It would not know anything about your humanity, experiences or memories as human."

"For what purpose would anyone do this?"

"You told me that you saw a goddess inject herself with a to you unknown substance. Now this, my sweet Noire, would be the proof that what I heard was very much not a rumor but a fact. I remain to find which goddess has her data taken, but let me tell you this. To forcibly infuse yourself with DNA that is not your own, DNA that is created from naught but the goddess physical body, would be volatile to the point of unpredictability. The least dangerous scenario would be for whoever is using the DNA on their own body to lose their sense of self, only the traces of the forgotten goddess remaining. A shallow machine with no morals, real feelings or sense."

Noire shook at the thought of that. Neptune was doing exactly that. She was turning into a crazed berserker. "You were told to make her whole again. How will you do that?"

"I will find her sense of self and return it to the surface world. I cannot tell you what will happen beyond this. There has never been a case like this before."

"Is it... normal that someone becomes extremely powerful when using the DNA of another goddess like that?"

"I can only offer speculation on what you have seen. A theory of mine is that injecting the DNA does not simply turns one into another but it puts a layer on top of an existing entity. If you so will, the power of the DNA is not exchanged with the power of the injected but added to it."

"That would explain her insane abilities..." Noire really needed to go back to the surface. But it was nagging at her that she was actually enjoying learning all those things from Magic.

"Know this, Noire. I said I would not pursue you beyond our realm should you find a way to escape." Her eyes narrowed. "But let this be known. Should you ever speak of the hidden graveyard, of the ultimate fate of the goddesses that outlive their time, **I will know. And I will lay waste to all you know and hold dear. I would feel no guilt or shame over killing millions**. I will only warn you this once." Returning to normal, Magic sat up, her large breasts bouncing slightly. "You are however free to speak of anything else you see and hear." Thinking of something interesting, Magic smiled. "I cannot grant you any **one** wish you might have, but I will grant you the right to free any **one** human from the slavers. This is, if you fulfill my condition."

Noire's thoughts immediately shifted to the poor girl that had been a prisoner for two weeks. But she didn't have time to waste on one of Magic's games.

"Find the traitor for me. Should you accomplish this, I will stand by my word and grant you the right to free any one human. I am well aware that you are thinking of escaping. But you will see that it is a much more difficult task than you imagine." Magic knew that even if Noire escaped, she would eventually have to return to the Graveyard. If only to become a fallen one. It was but a simple matter to spare Noire that fate and make her eternally hers then.

"Why do you help me so much? You brought me here, aren't you worried that I will get away?" Every time she thought she understood Magic, the woman pulled a new contradiction out of her non-existing sleeve.

"To see you struggle a little, learn the fine workings of politics among the dark court, to have you bathe with me and gaze at your beautiful body, to observe your gestures, speech and mannerism, to listen to your stories, all of these serve to enrich my life. I have no doubt that one as smart as you will escape eventually. This might be tomorrow, in a month or ten years from now, who can say? I believe that imprisoning you by force, robbing you of all chance to leave forever, would tarnish your true qualities."

Noire didn't know if she should be freaked out, creeped out or very flattered. "I have to find the culprit, right? And I'm free to go anywhere I want within Pyraba?"

"I am delighted to see that you are a quick learner." Smiling wide, Magic rose and walked to Noire, pushing her down on the pillows, bending over her. "But there is one thing I will need to do before your chase." Kissing Noire's cheek, a small, pink mark in the shape of a snake tail appeared on the exact same spot. "This mark will fade in seventy and two hours. You have until then to find the culprit. After that, I shall confront them."

"You know who it is?!"

"Of course. Noire, I am the interim ruler of this realm. My ears reach many places. But it would not be fun to spoil your chase, so I shall refrain from giving you any hints." A mischievous smirk on her face, Magic groped Noire for a moment. "I **very** much like the feeling of your breasts. I would be delighted if I could one day spend a night with you as my lover."

A crazy blush on her face, Noire was now sure that the woman had been flattering her earlier. "Maybe." She couldn't outright refuse. Not only because Magic was in complete control over her life... but also because she couldn't deny that she was extremely beautiful.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Uni felt sick. After watching what Planeptune had done, she couldn't refuse the truce. No matter how much she loved Nepgear, she couldn't condone genocide. Her hand covering her mouth, she closed the video and looked at Blanc. "You only want a truce? Would an alliance not be more useful to both of us"

"No matter how much we try to play it down, Lowee and Lastation have fought and killed each others soldiers in the hundreds. The people would revolt if we tried to force an alliance upon them. A truce they will welcome, because it means that we won't be fighting each other but the monsters in the west."

"I can't believe Nepgear is supporting what her sister does..."

"Neptune isn't who you used to know. She has found some kind of crazy tech that lets her transform into something stronger than a goddess." Blanc didn't admit it but she was scared of Neptune. Anyone would be. "Nepgear was my prisoner until the attack. I can't speak for her, but at least I doubt she had anything to do with it."

"Was Vert your prisoner as well?" Uni was curious if something had happened between them.

"That's none of your business." Trying to keep her attitude under control, Blanc was painfully reminded that Vert was dead.

Raising her hands, Uni took a step back. "I will make the announcements that we're at peace with Lowee, for now. As soon as Planeptune is dealt with, we will see who the strongest one is."

"Don't hold you breath on getting out of that alive. First we have to get rid of Neptune, anyway." Blanc stared towards the west. Planeptune was looming in the distance, like the castle of an evil overlord.

"Blanc, I know we're not allies and you have no obligation to answer me, but... do you know where my sister is?"

"I heard reports that she was heading north, towards my lands, when she got attacked by someone or something. Nobody has seen her since then. It's possible that Neptune got her." She didn't want to say _and killed her_. She didn't hate Noire that much.

"Kei said she isn't dead, but... I hope I can see her again. I feel bad, becoming Lastation's goddess without her being around to see it."

"Suck it up, Uni. This is war. We don't have the luxury of only doing what we think feels good." Slowly ascending into the air, Blanc turned face once more. "Uni. Come to terms that you might have to fight Nepgear until either of you is dead or has given up."

Gritting her teeth, that was Uni's greatest fear. Having to fight Nepgear. There... there had to be some way, **any** way to get Nepgear out of Planeptune before both Lowee and Lastation started attacking them. "I'd do **anything** to have Nepgear by my side... and stop her from participating in this war." Talking to herself, Uni instantly summoned her rifle when she noticed someone behind her.

"**Anything?**" A smirk played around the visitor's lips. "You did say you'd do **anything** right? I might have just the thing for you..."

=== END OF LINE ===


	6. Split: Partition

******Follow me on twitter for updates on when a new chapter goes live. twitter/KuuTenko**

**Overheat**

_Execute: 10100000_

**Split: Partition**

Nepgear couldn't even stand anymore, her back to the wall, she sunk to the ground, beaten and bleeding from several places. Looking up, she wanted to flinch. Her sister's face was no longer that of a sane person.

_The late evening, Nepgear was eating dinner with her sister, worried sick. After returning from her shower, she had vanished for several hours. Shortly after, Nepgear received reports that a small village to the south-east of Planeptune capital city had been entirely wiped off the map. It was a village that was still within Planeptune borders but actively trying to stay neutral, providing support to the wounded for both Leanbox and Planeptune forces._

_Being shown images of what remained of the village, Nepgear felt sick. A carpet of blood and gore spread across the entire place, houses burned to their very groundwork, craters lining the streets. It were only images of the aftermath, but Neptune's coincidental vanishing and the attack on the village shortly after... it wasn't just coincidence, was it? She had to talk to her sister. No matter how much she loved her, supported her, she couldn't stand for genocide on their **own** people. There was a line that she couldn't cross, no matter how loyal she was to her sister._

_Upon her return, Nepgear faced her sister in Neptune's quarters. "Sis, I don't want to believe it but... did you attack and wipe out Alexarts?"_

"_I did. What about it? They were traitors to our nation, giving aid to the worthless Leanbox fools."_

"_That's madness! They were helping our own troops, too! You can't just indiscriminately kill everyone that-" Nepgear felt the impact of her sister's leg hitting her sides, being slammed into a nearby wall before she could finish._

"_Did you just tell me what I can do and what I can't do?" Grabbing Nepgear's throat and lifting her up, Purple Heart smashed her into the wall three more times, tightening her grip. "**I am the goddess**. You are just the leftovers, my stand-in! Don't you dare speak to me like I'm your equal!" Hitting her, Neptune's rage increased with each punch she landed, Nepgear completely unable to defend herself against the onslaught._

"Sis..." Spitting out blood, tasting a deep iron in her mouth, Nepgear could only see through one eye, having been severely beaten by her own sister. Looking at Neptune's face, she noticed that her eye colors were inconsistent with each other. One eye was dark pink, the other was an azure blue, her real eye color. Something was changing her, and not for the better. "Neptune, what-" Nepgear was grabbed by her throat again. Bringing her sister's face centimeters from her own, the goddess hissed. "That fool is long gone." Turning around, she had enough of her sister's impudence. She should have let her rot in Lowee's dungeons. "Guards!"

Several heavily armed troopers came rushing into the room. Looking at the goddess attacking her sister, they were very uneasy. "Purple Sister has committed treason. Get anti-crystal binds and throw her into a cell." Throwing her sister onto the ground, Nepgear's transformation coming undone at the same time, right in front of the soldiers, Purple Heart turned away, walking out on the balcony, the sun having almost vanished completely beyond the horizon. "Soon..." Chuckling by herself, the goddess' eyes were focused east, towards Lastation.

Grabbing Nepgear and roughly dragging her away, six soldiers went into the elevator with her, taking Purple Sister downward, to the prison. Talking to each other, Nepgear picked up that not even the soldiers fully believed in their goddess. "It is hard to believe that our carefree goddess turned into that."

"If she hears you say that, she'll kill you on the spot." Looking at Nepgear, the soldier wasn't entirely comfortable with locking her up. "What did she do to get accused of treason?"

"Probably spoke up against Lady Purple Heart." A third soldier looked at them, frowning. "Now shut up before you get all of us into massive trouble." Hitting the back of the soldier that had talked first, the third soldier continued to frown.

Reaching the bottom, the prison, they dragged Nepgear forward, the lilac-haired girl's feet sliding over the ground, unable to walk or stand on her own. Getting out of Lowee's prison, only to end up in her own a little bit later... that was just too much. No matter how stressful the job was on her sister, Nepgear couldn't forgive her.

Stopping at a large desk, placed in an even larger room, they forced a choker and two anklets on Nepgear, the anti-crystal inside preventing her from transforming even if she should recover enough to do so. "Just throw her into any cell."

Only two of the six soldiers remained, dragging her all the way to the back, throwing her in the only cell that was not already occupied by two people. A single worn down redhead was inside, Nepgear almost landing on top of her.

The walls were made from a high tech silicon compound, extremely durable and manufactured from a single piece. It was basically impossible to get out of a cell any way but through the equally high tech door that required a numerical code being entered from the outside. A single white light, embedded into the ceiling, a single mattress on a metal frame, no blanket, and a toilet was all the room contained.

Picking herself off the ground, Nepgear was still bleeding slightly, feeling terrible, both physically and emotionally. Looking at her cellmate, she faced a young girl with red hair that was tied into a pony tail that reached all the way to her waist. Her clothes were worn out but she looked about her own age.

"To think I'd end up sharing a cell with Purple Sister herself. I'm sorry, I mean Lady Purple Sister." Shrugging briefly, the girl helped Nepgear sit up and lean against a wall. "What did you do that your own sister locked you up?"

"Who're you?" Nepgear had never met the girl before but it was very obvious that she wasn't just any random political prisoner.

"Me? I'm just a hand for hire that got locked up for refusing to kill soldiers that had already surrendered. Been here for almost two weeks I reckon. Maybe give or take a few days." Not letting her imprisonment crash her mood, the girl realized she forgot something important. "Oh right, I'm Falcom. I already know your name, though."

"You're a mercenary?" Nepgear wondered if that was a wise choice, given the current state of the world.

"Sort of. I usually do whatever needs to be done so I can eat and have a place to stay. But I stay away from the ocean and all ship related things. Please don't ask me why, it'll sound stupid."

Staying quiet, Nepgear had a lot to think about. Her sister was clearly losing her grip on reality. Killing their own citizen was political suicide, she knew that much. Everything she had done to help Planeptune in the war... fighting on the front lines, leading elite troops through dangerous territory, torturing Vert, locking up her own feelings and thoughts on the war until recently. Spending time in Lowee's prison had been harsh, but it had given her time to think. No torture, and the guards actually looked out for her well being, if only her physical one.

"What is happening out there? There was a lot of commotion yesterday, something about Lowee." Falcom had no idea what the war had become during her time in prison. She was given meals but the guards never talked to her when they brought the food.

"My sister laid waste to Lowee's capital city, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians." Nepgear felt the full weight of the truth sink in as she told the girl about it. Neptune had committed genocide, and despite that, she had wanted to support her to the end. But when she started wiping out their own villages because she thought they were betraying her, she could no longer keep up the pretense that Neptune was doing the right thing.

"You don't happen to have a plan on how to get out of here, right? I mean, can't you transform and blast your way out?" Falcom only knew that candidates and goddesses could transform, not their specific abilities.

Pointing at her choker and anklets, Nepgear shook her head. "I can't even summon my weapon with these on. I'm a lot weaker than you."

"Crud. I really want to get out of here and out of Planeptune for that matter. I'm worried about my sister and-" Stopping mid-sentence, Falcom focused on her ears. "Gunshots, outside." Getting up and standing next to the door, the redhead pressed her ear against the wall, listening. "There's a lot of noise outside, shouting, rifle fire... there is a fight going on." Seeing as her great chance to get out, Falcom put Nepgear's arm over her own shoulder and pulled her up, her free arm around Nepgear's waist.

It was easy to put one and one together in this case. Nepgear gets thrown into prison and not even thirty minutes later there is a fight going on in the prison? That could mean only one thing. A coup. She wasn't too surprised. Nepgear was very popular among the citizen, much more so than Purple Heart, prior to the war so the moment the news leaked that she was being imprisoned, the nation split in two.

To confirm her guess, the door was unlocked, the sound of firearms being used echoing through the hallways, smoke wafting into the cell. "Lady Purple Sister!" Three soldiers, all three wearing masks, pointed their guns at Falcom, who was holding their target. "Don't move, criminal scum!"

"I'm on your side, blockheads! Take me with you, I got locked up here because I refused to kill troops that had surrendered!" Falcom didn't want to spend the remainder of her life in prison. She had to take this gamble.

"Shoot her!" Issuing orders, the other soldiers took aim.

"Stop!" Nepgear's voice had an immediate effect on the soldiers. "She's telling the truth." Nepgear wasn't sure what was happening, but she wouldn't stand for Falcom rotting in prison for doing the right thing.

"Move!" Shouting, another soldier joining them, a bleeding hole in her right arm. "We're out numbered! Get going!"

Falcom didn't wait for them to lower their weapons and pushed one of them out of the way, her raw strength allowing her to effortlessly carry Nepgear by herself. "Where to?" Looking down the hallway, one side of it was on fire. That narrowed it down quite a lot.

"Any of you got a spare sword or something? I feel naked without one!" Shouting, Falcom was so quick that she almost outran the other soldiers, who were relieved to have the redhead at their side but also wary of her intentions. "Nobody? Fine, fine, I'll just play mule. You guys are some kind of resistance, right?"

"Stop talking and run." One of the soldiers raised her visor. Deep red eyes, pale white skin and green hair were visible beneath it. "We're getting out of here." Stopping at a dead end, the soldier kicked the wall three times. "Take cover!"

Moving into a nearby cell, the same soldier counted to ten. At the final number, the dead end exploded with such fury that Falcom was coughing through the dust cloud when she rose, still carrying Nepgear. Her ears were ringing quite a bit, too. Moving through the hole, she found herself in what looked like a dysfunctional sewage canal. "Get on!" Two soldiers waited atop a large hovercraft, their escape vehicle.

A civil war was not about to start. It had already begun.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Lastation and Lowee have formed an alliance?" Chika was pissed beyond belief. Not only had she lost her goddess battery, but there was undoubtedly a traitor among her staff somewhere. And she was seriously running out of patience regarding Lady Vert's whereabouts. "What about Lady Vert?"

"We spotted her fighting at the side of White Heart against some kind of abomination that Purple Heart turned herself into." Cave and her unit were specialized in secret ops. Getting from Leanbox to Lowee was impossible if they took the land route. But accessing the icy lands by circumventing that, going straight south from Leanbox, it was possible to get there and back within as little as six hours, provided the right equipment and knowledge of the route.

"Why would our Lady Vert help that flat brat White Heart?" Chika bit her thumb. That flat-as-a-board girl better not have done anything to her Vert!

"Planeptune didn't just attack their military forces. They primarily focused on inflicting as many civilian causalities as possible." Cave shook her head. A meter behind her stood Nisa, who was appalled by the cruelty of the attack, even now

"I don't see the point of that, unless Planeptune is running for _Most Antagonistic Nation on the Planet_ or something." Chika turned around and looked at the chaos that Yellow Heart's escape had caused. "Tsk. We only got around a hundred doses of stable power crystals. At best, we can launch a single overwhelming attack." Looking over her shoulder, at Cave, Chika made a decision. "You said that Lady Vert was seen at the battle, right?"

"Yes." Cave found it slightly worrisome that Chika left out the part of her being at White Heart's side. Expecting behavior like that, she hadn't reported the fact that Lady Vert had saved White Heart's life. It would just make her angry.

"Tell the troops to stand by. I have to take care of a few things. I need you to find Lady Vert. We can't risk attacking anyone because they might be holding her prisoner." She could have been captured by Lowee troops or Planeptune troops. And with the alliance, Lowee could have given her as a bargaining chip to Lastation. Chika couldn't risk attacking any of those.

"And send construction to take care of this mess! And find where that pesky failure of a goddess has gone!" Chika kicked a large rock that was on the floor just in front of her, hurting her foot in the process. "Damn all this!"

Leaving, Cave watched Nisa from the corner of her eye, walking next to her. "Aren't you going to ask about Yellow Heart and what happened?"

"After everything Planeptune did in Lowee, I know they're evil and have to be stopped. Even... if I have to tolerate some smaller evils in the process." After being with Cave, Nisa realized that the world wasn't quite as black and white as she used to think. Justice was something people had very different views of. "I won't help with any evil activities though!" Noticing the glint in Cave's eyes, Nisa lowered her head. Until now, Cave had taken care of her, using her for rescue missions, reconnaissance and fighting Planeptune troops, trying to avoid having her do the more questionable jobs. "But who is this Yellow Heart?"

"She showed up four months ago in Planeptune. Nobody actually knows how she got there and who she is, but she had the power to transform into a goddess." Cave didn't like that she had so extremely limited information on her. "She kept her a prisoner for our own means but even then we didn't learn anything about where she came from or to which nation she belongs."

"Isn't that really suspicious?"

"That can be said about this entire war. We still don't know what the real identity of the troops that attacked Leanbox during the peace conference. They blew themselves up, shouting _Lastation Superiority_, but that might have been a ruse to mislead us into attacking Lastation."

"So nobody knows or claims responsibility for the attacks?" Nisa was interested in how the whole war had even started.

"The goddesses were at each others throat for years. Small skirmishes and personal fights were the norm. So when this happened, they all accused each other of setting each other up. They didn't trust each other to begin with, so it was more than enough to give them an excuse to start a full blown war."

"Why didn't they try talking it over? That is obviously suspicious!"

"It took a lot of effort to get them together, make them look at each other as equals and then get them to call for peace. Especially our nation and Lowee were very much enemies because of the relationship between Lady Green Heart and White Heart."

Nisa didn't need to ask about that, fully aware of what Green Heart did to cause White Heart's temper to run wild. She would react in the same way. "What about Planeptune? How did they up like this?"

"Nobody knows. At some point, their warfare became increasingly merciless and cruel, targeting civilian facilities, burning enemy villages to the ground. It was very effective but the same time, beneath anything the other nations wanted to do. But they had to, to compete. We developed the anti-crystal recreation process and looked into procedures to infuse normal humans like you and me with the power of a goddess, temporarily. Imagine a hundred soldiers with the power of Lady Vert attacking a city. No matter what kind of defense they have, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Nisa found that to be a terrifying aspect. "Wouldn't that be just as bad as what Planeptune did?"

"Chika may talk like that, and she ordered the super soldier experiment to go live, but she wouldn't use them to target the civilian population." Cave waited in front of the elevator, Nisa still next to her. Taking her hand and pulling her close, she kissed the blue haired girl, much to the embarrassment of the latter. Separating, Nisa's face was bright red.

"Why did you kiss me in front of everyone?!" Covering her mouth, Nisa felt like everyone was staring at her.

"Because I wanted to. Everyone here is part of my unit and they know about my preferences. You don't complain when we're alone." Cave was slightly amused. Nisa was just fun to tease a little every now and then. Her reactions were very cute and fun to watch.

The elevator arrived and Cave pushed the blue haired girl in. "We have work to do. Don't worry, you and I will be going alone while the rest of the unit will search for Yellow Heart." She didn't want to burden Nisa with the emotional barrage of having to track down and capture what was essentially a little girl. Even though her goddess form made it look very much like she was an adult.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Night was slow to fall in Lastation. The crisis of the monster assault past them, the footage that had been shot in Lowee was waking the citizens up, seeing Planeptune as nothing but an evil empire that had to be stopped. With the news from Lowee came a special report of the LSN, the Lastation News, overriding every broadcast of their network. While the inauguration of a new goddess was normally accompanied by a big festival and celebration, war time and the rush nature of how it had happened prevented that from happening now. Seeing Uni standing on the balcony, several cameras recording her every angle, the goddess of Lastation spoke to her people, having prepared a speech before hand, knowing she wouldn't be able to improvise well enough.

"Many of you know me as Black Sister, candidate to the goddess position of Lastation! As of today, I am no mere candidate but have succeeded my sister. While we are unsure what has happened to Black Heart, we know for a fact that she is not dead and we eagerly await her return! Because of the nature of her disappearance, I will not take the title of Black Heart but remain Black Sister. Nonetheless, I will do my best to rule in her stead." Making a meaningful pause, Uni was incredibly nervous. "Until only a few hours ago, I was under strict guard in a town just north of our border. A prisoner of Lowee! But with Planeptune's rise to tyranny and genocidal behavior, Lowee has taken the first step and not only called for a truce and union against this monstrosity, but also released me, unconditionally, so the citizens of Lastation can once again remain safe from the monsters beyond our borders!"

Inside or on the streets, underground or high above, people were listening to the inauguration speech of their goddess. Uni was well loved before the war and her popularity had suffered little during it. Few had ever seen her up close enough to tell the difference in her looks, but many remarked how similar she looked to Black Heart.

"Lowee and Lastation have entered a union of a non-aggression pact until the threat that Planeptune poses has been neutralized! I know that many of you are opposed to this war, that you seek peace, but there have been transgressions against the rights of our people by Lowee and Leanbox as well. I will do my best to successfully bring an end to this war, by conquest or diplomacy!"

It was but a short speech for it was late and the sun had long passed beyond the horizon. Uni was incredibly tired as well. "As my final words, I would like to thank the citizens of Lastation for trusting in my sister and I! Even as goddesses, we make errors, we might not see clearly sometimes, but in all we do, we do it for Lastation and our love of it's citizens! Let us hope! For a return of Black Heart and peace to this nation! For prosperity and happiness for it's people! I am Black Sister, Goddess of Lastation, and I trust all of **you** to believe in me the same way you believed in Black Heart."

Cutting the connection, the cameras were turned off, Uni breaking out in sweat and stumbling backwards. Kei was by her side, providing support. Lyrica, as a reward for her services, had not been gagged again but was merely confined to the interior of the castle. Tonelico, originally a village in Lastation territory, was no more and while Lyrica grew up in Leanbox, they didn't want to treat her like an enemy at this point.

"Are you feeling okay, Uni?"

"I think Rom's healing magic is wearing off... I feel like a house just fell on me." Shaking a little, Uni tried to regain her composure by taking a few deep breaths, with modest success. "Kei, can you take a look at the sharicite and tell me if the shares are declining?" Even after becoming a goddess, Uni still felt a little bit insecure about being compared to her sister.

There was one other thing that was deeply worrying her, but it was too late to take back what she had said. Walking past the camera crew and approaching Lyrica, Uni hadn't thanked her yet. "I know we've treated you as a prisoner, but now you're free to explore the castle to your liking. And... you did a good job with the hymn." Uni tried to get over herself and simply say _thank you_ but she couldn't quite get it out.

"I wonder if it used to be my people that taught the hymn to the candidates and they eventually were passed on to the Oracles." Lyrica barely knew anything about her village, having only been two years old when it was wiped off the maps. Growing up in Leanbox, she only learned about her heritage when she was seven years old and her mother told her that it was time for her to pass on the tradition. Six years later, she died of natural causes, leaving behind her teenage girl, proud of what she could do but forced to hide it.

In the language of the hymns, there was a term for people like her, those who sang the hymns for the benefit of others. Maybe one day, she could reveal herself like that to the world. Looking at Uni, she actually liked her a bit. She was nice, even if not very honest with herself, and seemed to really care for her people and her sister.

Kei returned to Uni while she was with Lyrica. "I can't tell what exactly caused it but the shares have spiked. I have only ever seen them this high when the war first started and people prayed in devotion to Black Heart." Smiling at Uni, Kei patted her on the shoulder. "You did a good job, Uni."

Feeling very relieved, Uni excused herself and headed to what used to be Noire's room. As the goddess, she was expected to live there, for now. When Noire returned, she would use her own room and let her sister take most of the governing duties. But now that she was actually inaugurated, she didn't want to step back too much. She would prove to her sister that she could rule Lastation just as well as her!

Summoning her wings, Uni was pleased to see that they took were very much like those of a goddess now, a deep gray in color, three of them to each side, extremely reminiscent of her sister's. Hers had a black metal attached to both the upper and lower end, giving them the illusion of being encased.

Ascending higher and higher, Uni could feel the responsibility and pride of truly being Lastation's goddess rise up in her. Her lands reached almost as far as her eyes could see. She had spent years watching her sister and Kei rule the nation. She knew she could do it. She just had to believe in herself.

Two kilometers above the tower that crowned Lastation's peak of technology, Uni summoned her weapon. It had largely remained, visually. But Uni could tell the difference right away. Not only because she loved weapons, especially guns, but because it was part of her being the goddess.

Creating a large magic circle below her, Uni flipped the mode switch, changing from mid to long range assault mode to artillery. The rifle transformed, expanded, growing to six times it's previous size, assembling itself as an imposing weapon that any enemy would do well to fear. Because of what Planeptune had done, she would get to use it soon. Her maximum range was one hundred and sixty kilometers when fully charged and in pristine condition. Her top output an energy blast that would measure 52 TJ, equivalent to the power needed to wipe a town of moderate size completely off the map. It was an instrument of war, not one used to fight individuals. Uni hoped that once the war was over, she would never have to use it.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Closing the doors behind her, Mina's head hung low and she teared up a little. Finding hope that Blanc was moving on, that she was done being depressed, when the white goddess had taken part in the monster cleansing, she had been sorely disappointed.

The moment she returned to the capital, Blanc's mood changed for the worse. Lethargy and sadness were dominating her expression and it was painful to just look at how much she was blaming herself. Unable to eat, barely able to drink, the more she was alone, the more she sunk deeper into the abyss of guilt. Mina feared that she might end up never getting out of it if she didn't do something.

But she couldn't confront Ram and Rom with the possibility that their sister had killed the goddess of Leanbox, even if it was accidental. Worse yet, she couldn't reveal to anyone that Blanc had been deeply in love with Vert. No matter how she looked at it, how much Blanc would deny it, those eyes, those tears, they did not belong to someone that just mourned a friend.

Sitting in silence in her room, the lights off, the balcony open, cold air was intruding into the room. But Blanc couldn't even feel cold anymore. The more she drowned out the horrible feeling, the more she pretended to not know or care about it, the worse the rebound was. She was at home in Lowee but her home carried the painful reminder that she was responsible for killing the girl that had saved her life.

"Lady Blanc..." Mina was worried sick. She was looking even worse than earlier. "About Lady Vert... she meant something to you, didn't she?" Maybe it would help if she got Blanc to talk about her feelings. At this point, Mina just didn't know what else to try.

"She was always mocking me... always making fun of how my breasts are small and don't grow when I transform... we fought so many times... and then I saw my chance, capture her, make her feel the humiliation that I felt..." Blanc remembered the moment she had _rescued_ Vert from Planeptune. Mocking her in the same way as Vert had done to her...

"No.. not quite... I didn't just mock her for something purely physical. I took her pride and trampled all over it. I took her freedom and dignity... and even after all that, she retained her smile." Thinking about those moments, Blanc felt her heart ache. She had been such a horrible person, she almost couldn't believe what her thirst for revenge had made her do.

"Talking to her like that... I don't know if it was fear or something else but she didn't make fun of me even once." Tears ran down Blanc's cheeks, slowly dripping on her legs while she talked about Vert. "Eventually... I looked at her and I felt welcome. The few moments I shared with Vert... they were some of the happiest I had in a long time." Her memories reached the point where her feelings became obvious to herself. When Vert called her cute, started to subtly flirt with her... that moment marked the breakdown of her rationale. "I ran away from what I really felt like. I told myself, I couldn't be by her side anymore... because she was the enemy. Because I didn't think I could... stay true to myself." Covering her face in her hands, Blanc's hat fell off, landing on the cold floor. Mina just stood in front of it, hurting from seeing her goddess in pain like this.

"I ran away! I ran away from my own feelings! How can I rule a country, fight a war, if I can't even handle myself?!" Getting louder, Blanc didn't know what to do. It hurt so much, she felt like her heart was breaking in half. "I loved her! I was stupid enough to fall in love with Vert and that ruined everything! I killed the girl I loved! I can't even look at myself in the mirror! All I see is the face of Vert's murderer!"

Taking a step forward, Blanc reacted almost with force. "**Don't touch me! Just leave me!**" Shouting, the white goddess threw herself on her bed, face down. Tears stained Blanc's pillow that faintly smelled like Vert. Why was she so weak? Why couldn't she have just **tried** to make things work? If she hadn't thrown Vert into prison, she would still be alive! She could have freed her, and both of them together could have fought off Purple Heart before she transformed! It all came down to the stupid move of throwing her in prison! If only she could go back and do things over!

A few minutes passed while Blanc kept crying. Mina had left the room shortly after, knowing that there was nothing she could do to make her goddess feel better. She feared that if Vert really was dead, then Blanc would likely never come to terms with it. That would be an enormous problem.

Inside the room, Blanc had finally stopped crying. Not because she felt no longer sad but because she had no energy left to cry. Looking up, she saw a shadow near the balcony. The moon hidden behind the clouds, she had trouble making out who it was.

"What would you give to have Green Heart returned to you?"

=== OVERHEAT ===

Hiding behind a large bookshelf, Noire had quite quickly figured out how the dark court operated. It was a big mass of backdoor deals, illegal trading, just barely dodging the rules and lying through your teeth, all with a smile on your face. Right now, she was eavesdropping on a wealthy merchant and a regulator, someone responsible for controlling the incoming and outgoing amount of specific goods, in this case, counterfeit of a Planeptune handheld device.

Despite it's name, the underworld had much more strict rules and punishments for those who broke them than Noire had assumed. It was even worse than the surface world, with strict regulations of what would pass as acceptable counterfeit, in what number they could be exported and so on. There were rules for rules and regulations for regulations, a bureaucracy upon another bureaucracy, with a paper trail leading everywhere and anywhere from anyone to everyone else.

The trick to cut through the red tape was to not only know the right people but to have means of blackmailing them or coercing their cooperation with muscle, that is to say, with threats of violence upon their person.

Stepping out of her hideout, Noire made her presence known to the two. "I wonder what your superior would have to say about taking a bribe to falsify important documents regarding the export of these products." Looking towards the merchant next, Noire continued. "And I am sure that Queen Magic will be very interested in hearing that there are merchants audacious enough to bribe government officials."

It was a complex game of who had the most dirt on anyone else. Her looks had already come in handy and so had her position as Magic's companion. She didn't like to admit it, but it was a fascinating game, one that she wasn't too shabby at, in her own opinion. Staring at the merchant trying to pull out a small handgun, Noire put on her best contempt face and smirked. "I hope you're aware of the consequences you will face if you should injure the goddess that the queen herself had personally brought here." Using Magic's position to her advantage, Noire was fully aware that she was actually on her own and Magic was not backing her. **They** however, did not know that.

"What do you want, girl?" Looking to the regulation officer, the merchant smelled trouble.

Every type of goods had a classification and there was nothing that was not caught by the scanners at the gate. The only way to get it out of the city was by smuggling, a risky move. If one was caught, they would face a penalty of a thousand hours in the dark cascade, a place that tormented it's victim's by making their nightmares seem real to them. "I need the names of the three best smugglers in Pyraba. I might just forget all I've heard and seen in this place if I get them. I might even recognize you when you come to deliver your tribute to the queen and tell her how great of an asset you have been to Pyraba." Noire's smile was bright and her eyes clear of lies. She found it surprisingly easy to disguise her own feelings and put on a poker face. Was it because of the taint that was circulating through her body?

Receiving the names without as much as a threat, Noire watched the gentleman walk away. Waiting until they were gone, she grabbed a nearby step ladder, moved it and reached to one of the higher up books. She really wished she could have used her wings in a situation like this. Taking the book, it was written in a language she couldn't decipher, much less read, Noire quickly flipped through it. Finding what she was looking for, an envelope without address, she replaced it with a small note, put the book back and moved the step ladder back.

No pockets to hide it, she slid the envelope between her breasts. Stopping for a moment, she was starting to think that Magic was having a bit of a bad influence on her. Thinking about it, she hadn't felt weirded out at all when she kissed her cheek. If that had been Neptune, she would have flinched at the very least.

The envelope between her breasts, wearing the very same dress she had worn to the ball, Noire was starting to feel exhausted. She still had time to find the traitor and she had made remarkable progress. The only way the traitor could have gotten the DNA outside became obvious once she learned of the scanning at the gate. And with the names of the best smugglers in her mind, Noire knew that they would come find **her** now.

Before that happened, she would need to make a few influential people owe her favors. It was one thing to eavesdrop on a merchant that bribed someone, another thing entirely to try and pry information from a smuggler about their client.

Noire's real goal shifted when she had realized that the information of who the traitor was would be worth a lot. Once she knew, she could trade the information with the one person she knew of that had access to the secrets that allowed her to transform despite the taint, Rei Ryghts. Letting her make a great impression before Magic by supplying the traitors name should be a big enough favor to make her give up the secret in exchange.

It wasn't the most impressive or clever plan, but it was the best she could come up with so quickly. She knew still very little about life in Pyraba and that showed itself when she headed down the wrong hallway, getting lost for the third time. Coming past several rooms, all of which were finely engraved and padded with a very fine cloth, Noire noticed someone else just as they entered one of the rooms. Only able to make out the details of one of them, blue hair and white clothes, she did see the hand of someone much smaller before the door was shut.

Walking past the room, Noire had seen many unique looking people in Pyraba, so their looks didn't surprise her anymore. There were even many non-humans around, creatures whose construction or biological makeup was completely beyond her understanding. The one thing that did surprise her, though, was the complete lack of monsters, something she would ask Magic about.

Passing by the last of the doors, Noire noticed that it wasn't closed completely. Peering through the gap, she quickly pulled back, her face fire red, now **fully** aware of what those rooms were. Continuing down the hallway, she reached one of three banquet rooms. This one connected eight hallways and two more rooms together and had space for roughly forty people.

The floors inside the castle were always lined with comfortable carpet, so fine that one could have gone barefoot with ease, and banners, showing the symbol of the interim ruler, the same symbol she was carrying on her cheek. The furniture made of ancient wood, the food was plentiful and rich. There was always some kind of meeting going on but due to the nature of the castle's layout, few bothered to be disturbed by people passing through. Walking past a whole collective of merchants, Noire picked up a few interesting snippets about the prices of wares that would soon spike. Thinking about finding just the right recipient for it, Noire was suddenly held back. One of the merchants, a man, had grabbed her arm. Looking down at him, Noire found his face repulsive because of his age and weight. "This is your only warning to let me go, merchant."

"Don't be like that. A pretty thing like you should just keep her mouth shut and-" With a lightning fast move, Noire grabbed his fork and the knife of the man next to him, stabbed his free hand with the fork, nailing it to the table and holding the knife to his throat.

"I am in a particularly good mood tonight, so I will take back what I said. **This** is your final warning. Release me or I will release all that blood that pounds through that vein on your throat." Noire was bluffing. She had no qualms about stabbing him, but killing him would have severe repercussions.

"Bitch!" Letting Noire go, the merchant turned and tried to pull the fork out of his hand, becoming the laughingstock of the collective in the process.

Aiming and throwing the knife, it landed exactly in front of the merchant, stuck in the table. Turning completely, Noire only then revealed her left cheek to the man, who now turned completely pale. By law, any one person that had been bought a slave or was otherwise owned by someone else had to wear the owners personal mark on their body. That Magic refrained from putting it on her prior to her little adventure was something Noire had yet to make sense of. "I suggest you stop laying hands on her majesty's companions."

The collective laughed even louder. That merchant would be replaced by someone else in less than twenty-four hours. Respect was a currency hard earned and easily spent, and committing a social faux pas such as this would no doubt ruin his reputation and career.

Taking the next hallway, Noire thought for a moment that she had seen Vert, just turning the corner. Walking as fast as she could without outright running, as running was very frowned upon in a world where time was of little value, she found nobody in the hallway and there were no doors. Staying for a moment, waiting to see if there was anything suspicious at all, Noire couldn't sense anything. Turning heel and heading in the opposite direction, the goddess kept looking over her shoulder, expecting to see Vert just walking down the corridor.

Getting lost even more, or as Noire claimed, familiarizing herself with the layout, the black haired girl came across a bathroom that very much reminded her of the open air bathhouses that northern Lowee prided itself on. To her surprise, there was only a single person inside. She recognized the pale silver hair. Embarrassed to bathe with someone she didn't know, Noire couldn't let this chance slip away. Taking one of the changing rooms and wrapping herself into a towel, Noire approached the other woman.

"You cannot take cloth, towel or not, into this." Not bothering to look up, Rei didn't realize who had shown up just yet.

Noire stopped. Not only because she wouldn't show herself naked in front of someone she didn't know but because she was simultaneously thinking that she wouldn't mind bathing naked with Magic. She really was having an influence on her, Noire was sure of it now.

Without going in there, the discussion would be awkward, and not only that but she would also lose any respect she might have had for her if she found out that she was too embarrassed to bathe with someone else. Leaving, without going into the water, Noire realized almost too late that the envelope was still securely lodged between her breasts. If she had gone into the bath, it would have ruined it.

In a way, her prude nature had saved her plan. Getting dressed again, Noire left the room, slightly disappointed that she was forced to let a chance like that slip by. Finally finding her way to a place she knew, Noire was looking forward to a rest and possibly a little chat with Magic. Thinking about it, she was definitely enjoying her stay in this place too much. A grin accompanied that thought.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Cloaks protecting them from the cold and hiding their faces, Cave and Nisa enjoyed some traditional Lowee cuisine. Despite the reparations going on, shops were still open for business. While Lowee was a land of ice and snow, they had the best agriculture technology in the world. Plantations inside green houses, gigantic domes that served to protect the crops from the cold. The ground itself was rich but the weather was an undying enemy. She didn't know the details, but there were also many natural caves that once served, or did still, as an alternative to the domes.

Poking through her mixed vegetables with meat, Cave preferred Leanbox or Lastation food but Lowee wasn't bad. She couldn't stand the generally very spicy food of Planeptune at all, though.

Nisa on the other hand loved Planeptune cooking and couldn't find much interest in Leanbox's food. She was rather indifferent about Lowee due to the lack of meat in most dishes and an overabundance of vegetables.

It was already the afternoon, spending the night traveling the sea route from Leanbox to Lowee and making their way to capital during the morning, arriving at noon. Lowee had declared the region a disaster area and forbidden entry, but that didn't stop the Leanbox operatives from searching the place. They hadn't found a single clue about Lady Vert's whereabouts. Sending Nisa into town to keep her ears open for rumors, the going talk was that she had vanished right after the battle.

"What now?" Stuffing her face with her grilled vegetables, Nisa was going to order seconds. Lowee people portions were too small for her.

"We keep looking. I'm going to have you apply for the national guard and look through the prison. That is one place I cannot get in because they will know my face." Looking at Nisa, Cave knew that the suppressant would be running out in an hour or two. And she really needed a distraction. All leads so far had turned up empty.

"I don't like the way you're looking at me." Nisa obeyed Cave and even trusted her to have her back when it came to that, but she still held a grudge against the redhead for drugging her. Pouting a bit, she couldn't pretend she didn't **enjoy** the sex. Cave was skilled with her fingers and tongue, and she never as much as lost a word about Nisa's lack of breasts. On the contrary, she seemed to enjoy rubbing her own, large breasts against Nisa's. The soft touch of Cave's breasts on her skin was always something she-

Shaking her head, Nisa tried to bury her lewd thoughts. The closer she got to the suppressant wearing off, the more her thoughts turned into perverted fantasies. And Cave seemed to know when that happened at all times.

"We're going back to the closed off area for one last search before we pursue alternative leads." Finishing her plate, Cave bend forward, whispering something to Nisa that drove a fierce blush in her face.

Paying the waitress for their food, with Nisa quickly stuffing the remainder of her order into her mouth, the blue haired girl ran after her superior officer the second she was done. "You could have waited for me!"

"Quiet. Take my hand and cuddle up against me. We're being watched. Someone clearly thinks we're suspicious." Cave's tone made clear that it was a direct order and not something Nisa could argue with.

Taking the redhead's arm and clinging to her like a lover would, Nisa sharpened her senses, trying to find out where they were being watched from. "Behind us?"

"They're taking great care to avoid being seen." Walking slowly, Cave pulled Nisa into a small side alley, taking off her own and Nisa's hoods, kissing the blue haired girl passionately. One eye closed, the other peering to the main street, Cave felt the presence that had followed them vanish. Continuing the kiss for a few more seconds, it remained gone. Stopping, Nisa was panting, her head flushed. "At least we don't have to pretend we enjoy it." Smirking, Cave put her hood up again.

"We're not going back to the wreckage. They'll wait for us there and I don't like walking straight into an ambush. We're going to lay low for the next couple hours." Looking at Nisa's face, Cave kissed her on the cheek. "Literally."

Leaving their temporary hiding spot, both of them, still arm in arm, walked in the opposite direction of before. Even in the shopping district were people still cleaning up the mess of the attack. Soldiers patrolled the streets but didn't take much note of a couple that was protecting themselves from the cold.

Taking a small detour, Cave and Nisa could tell that they were being followed again. "I thought we had lost them..." The same trick wouldn't work twice and she couldn't risk fighting on the open street or causing a fuss. Being caught in the capital city of an enemy nation would no doubt bring the death penalty with it. That or life long imprisonment.

Turning around a corner, Cave and Nisa sped up, trying to shake their pursuer again. But no matter where they went, they were followed. Finally reaching the eastern town wall, Cave and Nisa used a few barrels to reach the ceiling of a small house, making their way over the roofs to the top of the wall. They had to get out as soon as they could. Being captured was not an option.

Before they could reach the top, Nisa was hit by a dozen low caliber energy shots, forcing her to retreat. Hiding behind a chimney, checked her wounds. The only damage was purely meta-physical, affecting her abilities. Whoever fired those shots didn't want her dead.

"Nisa!" Looking towards the wall, she saw the barrel of a rifle poke out behind one of the elevated stone parts. Now that it had come to this, she couldn't just focus on running anymore. "Burst Phase!" Summoning two floating devices, they attached themselves to her back like wings. Releasing a powerful energy blast Cave was catapulted forward and above the wall, several energy shots flying past her.

Looking down, she saw a single woman with green hair, wielding a medium sized rifle, a model that Cave didn't know. "Burst Impact!" Creating two more devices, they shape-shifted into spear blades, directly aiming for the enemy's vitals.

Dodging the attack by jumping over the wall, the woman created magic circles that served as her foothold in mid-air, landing on a nearby house. Cave could tell that she was a professional by her movements alone. A bounty hunter perhaps? A contract assassin? But nobody should know they were in Lowee!

"Vector: Eight!" Raising her hand, the gun dissipated into energy. Only meters away from Cave, eight other guns, hand firearms, materialized out of thin air. "Shot!"

"Burst Guard!" Detaching the two devices from her back, Cave created a short range energy field around herself, deflecting every single shot.

"Vector: Two!" The hand guns dissipated, the exact same way as the rifle had, and the woman was suddenly holding something that looked very much like bad news. Cave recognized the design. An anti-vehicle armament firing tube launched rockets.

But she didn't get to set it off. Jumping to the side with only milliseconds to spare, the woman avoided a lethal blow from Nisa, the impact of her fist destroyed the entire roof, causing a large smoke screen to rise up, masking both her own movements as well as that of the enemy woman.

With a single powerful jump, Nisa emerged from the dust cloud, grabbed Cave and headed straight over the wall, both of them dropping a dozen meters in free fall before the redhead slowed their fall with her Burst Phase ability. Landing on the snow, both of them started to sprint with everything they had.

Putting over five hundred meters behind them before they slowed down to just running, Nisa was bothered by the shots she had taken. There was something odd about them. The damage they had caused was so trivial that it was hard to believe the shooter was really aiming to take her out.

Back on top of the wall, the woman held out her right hand. "Vector: One." A massive sniper rifle, supported on the ground, materialized. Having no need to take aim, she had already set the target during Vector: Seven. "Tri Hunter!" Firing three rapid shots, they ascended high into the air. Looking through the scope afterward, she searched for a few seconds before finding the two targets.

The blue haired woman was right at the side of the redhead. Unable to hear what they were saying, if they were saying anything, she watched the girl get hit by three high speed shots, in the chest, her legs and the head, each shot carrying a tremendously powerful paralyzing agent. The red girl stopping for a moment, she didn't look back at all and instead created an energy shield around herself and the girl. Smart. She knew she couldn't out run her, so she put up a defense.

But that didn't matter. "Mode Switch: Hardware." Changing from energy bullets to physical ones, she aimed at the girl's leg and fired the first shot. With the sound of a cannon firing, the sniper rifle unleashed the deadly bullet, big enough to count as anti-air measure. A second later, the bullet was deflected on the energy umbrella, leaving serious cracks in it. Firing a second bullet, she saw the first of four devices that supplied the shield go down. The third shot passed right by Cave's ear, shattering her protective barrier. "Mode Switch: Software. Special attribute: Lockup." The next shot took longer to aim. Having picked up the blue haired girl, only one of the devices remaining, she used it to increased the distance between her and the shooter as fast as she could.

Pulling the trigger, a single energy bullet flew at high speed, hitting Cave directly in the chest. Falling face down into the snow, the sniper dematerialized her weapon and pulled a small communication device. "Drop them down. They're about 1200 meters off the east wall. Get them."

Far out of the city, about five kilometers, a single black haired woman acknowledge the order. "U-Understood. I-I-I'll get right to it." Stuttering, she just couldn't get used to working for her. She was... scary. Really beautiful but even more scary than beautiful.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Nepgear looked at the sun that was already starting to go down. After her escape from Planeptune's prison, she had met with the leaders of the resistance. They were all influential people. CEO's of major corporations, military commanders and government officials. Histoire was there was well. She had went with a different rescue party during the breakout.

Just the two of them were in a small room that served as Nepgear's private bedroom for now. Luxury was sadly not something they could afford right now. "Histoire, do you know what happened to my sister?"

"Sadly, I know little more than you do. Without access to my database and the sharicite, I cannot look for probable cause of her violent change in behavior."

"It's more than just her behavior. She had heterochromia when I last saw her. A few of the soldiers reported rumors that our spies picked up in Lowee. They're saying that Sis transformed another time while already in her goddess form."

"That shouldn't be possible." Histoire, sitting on her book and floating a meter behind Nepgear, had never heard of something like that. "To begin with, a goddess form is not subject to change once established. There are minor physical and psychological changes when a candidate is inaugurated as the new goddess, but even those are, as stated, only minor."

"She is doing something really bad. Sis knew that she wasn't suited to lead a war at all, so she stayed transformed all the time. I supported her in whatever she did, but her methods became more and more extreme."

"That was my fault." Histoire blamed herself for not speaking up about it months ago. "Your human forms serve as a stabilizer for your goddess form. While you wouldn't notice it when being transformed for short periods of time, such as only a few days at a time, long time transformation can cause an addiction to the sharicite's power. It doesn't influence your physical state but the longer you stay transformed, the more difficult it becomes to voluntarily decide to turn back. It is very much alike to a drug addiction."

"Why did you never tell me that?" Nepgear would have forced her sister to transform back if she had known that.

"I explained this to Neptune when when the war begun and she decided to abandon her human form for the time being. It wasn't that she slowly became unable to turn back, she never **wanted** to turn back. She told me that she would win the war, no matter what means she had to use."

"Why would she do that if she knew it was going to end like this?" Nepgear couldn't understand that her sister would go down such a path.

"At this point I suppose it won't matter... Neptune made me swear to not tell you about this. Before the war, Planeptune shares were plummeting. Lowee, Lastation and Leanbox kept developing new things while our researchers came up with one failure after another. The people's faith was failing and we were losing money and shares exponentially quickly. If the war had not happened and Purple Heart had not taken these extreme measures, Planeptune as a nation would have failed."

"Why didn't she come to me with this?"

"She gave herself the fault for the state Planeptune was in and she wanted to fix it herself. Somewhere along the way of saving Planeptune, she must have left the right path... I tried to talk to her several times in the last months, telling her that the shares had stabilized, but she didn't want to listen. She wanted complete control over Gamindustri, so there could never be a crisis again. Even if it meant annihilating the other nations."

"So everything she did she did knowing what would happen? Knowing exactly **what** she was doing? I was ready to be understanding if there was something forcing her, if she was under some sort of effect because she never transformed back... but it's all her own will?"

"Up until a few days ago, I would say yes. But the attack on Lowee and the annihilation of Alexarts were clearly violent changes even compared to her prior behavior. The heterochromia and additional transformation you mentioned is another indicator that she did something to herself."

"What is going to happen to Planeptune now?"

"The resistance plans to make you a goddess, but we lack the means to do that. I would need access to the sharicite to even prepare you for the inauguration ceremony."

The door opened and a single soldier, a highly decorated commander, walked in. Her expression revealed optimism. "There has to be a way beside that. Lastation has just celebrated the inauguration of their new goddess, Black Sister. This is a recording we pulled from their central network a few minutes ago. It was broadcast last night." Handing a tablet to Nepgear, the soldier took a step back and waited.

It didn't take long for them to watch Uni's speech. Nepgear noticed every little change of her old friend. "She looks really different."

Histoire didn't share that opinion. "Her breasts might be a little bigger, but I cannot see any difference beside that."

"Her hair is longer, she is a little taller and the symbol of the goddess is much more pronounced inside her eyes. She also looks a lot more confident than before." Nepgear had known Uni for a long time. Despite the rivalry between their nations, she had never given up being her friend. Not until the war started and she had to chose between friendship and family.

"How did they make her a goddess in this short amount of time, Histoire?" Nepgear hadn't heard of Uni going through the inauguration process.

"If she really was only released hours before becoming a goddess, she couldn't have gone through the ceremony proper. It takes several days to bind a candidate to the sharicite and make them the new goddess." Histoire shook her head. It was clear that Uni had **somehow** become Lastation's goddess but she couldn't fathom how. "The only possibility I can think of is that they had a Lyrateil help them. But they're supposed to be extinct."

"A **what**?" Nepgear had never heard of the term before.

"For the inauguration process, the oracle of their nation teaches the candidate a powerful magic hymn that is sung during the process and used to bind the candidate permanently to the sharicite. It **is** possible to circumvent this by having the original source of these hymns sing it for the candidate. The original source was a small village in Lastation called Tonelico. They were a purely female tribe, leaving the village only to find a mate, get pregnant and then return. They existed for longer than I can remember before they were suddenly massacred fifteen years ago. Back then, the nations cooperated to find out who was behind it, but it never led anywhere."

"So where did they find one?"

"The possibility exists that there were survivors and they have been living among us for all this time. It is the only thing I can think of. Maybe Lastation developed a technology that can somehow replace the hymn but I wouldn't know."

The soldier stepped up, about to speak, when the ground shook so violently that Nepgear fell to the ground. She was still wearing the anti-crystal accessories, nearly indestructible and coded to only respond to the energy of Purple Heart.

Taking her communication device from the girdle it was holstered on, the commander immediately inquired about the situation. "Report!"

"Unknown hostile organism has landed in the backyard! Several causalities! We're engaging but conventional weaponry is proving ineffective! We're attempt to-" The communication broke off with the sizzling sound of death, another explosion following.

Part of the ceiling caving in, Nepgear wished she could have transformed. She didn't want to sacrifice the lives of everyone else just so she could stay safe. "Commander, it must be after me. Tell them to stand down, I'll go out and talk."

"Even if you say so, Lady Nepgear, we cannot obey that order. You're our only hope to dethrone that tyrannical monster that has half the country in it's grip. Under no circumstances can we lose you. All of us knew what we're getting in-"

With a third explosion, the outer wall of the room was cut in half, metal and stone melting under extreme heat. The soldier, having jumped in front of Nepgear just in time, was burned to death by the flames that were flaring up again. Histoire had been thrown under the bed and Nepgear was hanging half on the bed. Looking through the opening, she saw a mechanical face, despite being on the fourth floor!

A massive robotic arm reached into the room, each finger as big as Nepgear herself, the massive black hand enclosed around her. A robotic sound that resounded through the machine itself reached her a second later. "This is Brave. Target acquired. Proceeding to drop point." What was going to happen to her? Why was she being abducted like this? How did they even know she was here?

She couldn't see anything but she heard countless faint echoes. The sound of bullets hitting the massive body of the invading robot. A futile endeavor. Securely locked inside the robot's fist, Nepgear had not even room to move her legs. The moment she was ready to give up, she heard another transmission.

"Change of plans, Brave. Drop point has been compromised. Proceed to save unit one. We will meet you there." Nepgear could only make out that the voice was female before the pressure of the robot's hand made her pass out.

=== END OF LINE ===


	7. Copy: Virus

******Follow me on twitter for updates on when a new chapter goes live. twitter/KuuTenko**

**Overheat**

_Execute: 10101010_

"_The war has gone out of control. One is interfering with the plan and disrupting the intended paths." _A voice that seemingly belonged to no one was heard in Arfoire's quarters. The eternal black witch did not react or say anything. _"Should we not take care to restore the proper way?"_

"**It will restore itself. The goddesses of this age are far less incompetent than you are willing to give them credit for. Wait and see. Simply wait, and see."**

**Copy: Virus**

"What do you mean you can't do it?" Angrily stomping on the floor, the woman argued loudly with the blue haired girl, who was showing no emotion at all.

"It means exactly what I said. What has happened that you require me to suppress her memory for a second time? Was the shaping process interrupted?"

"The brat escaped and got caught by Leanbox. I don't know what happened specifically but she is heavily traumatized. I cannot continue the shaping process like this."

"It was dangerous to suppress a century of memories to begin with. Using _METHOD IMPLANTA_ again so soon would not only kill her but also me with certainty. Is she here in Pyraba?"

"Yes. She won't be any trouble but I'm on a schedule here. Restarting the shaping process was not in my plans! Is there a way to simply erase recent memories?"

"You do not seem to understand the implications of forcefully altering memories and mental states. These are extremely delicate processes that have to be performed with the utmost caution. You hired me. I met your request. The contract merely states that I will perform _maintenance_ on her after the shaping process is complete and she has been inaugurated to function as your puppet. I am under no obligation to follow any of your orders beside that."

"How much to renew the contract?" She needed her. She was essential to her plans.

"Ten million credits. Of course you will still be required to pay for the maintenance once the inauguration has finished." Turning to the side, the blue haired girl touched her throat briefly. Dealing with this woman was slightly unpleasant.

"Fine, I will pay you."

"My point remains. I cannot forcibly reverse the process so the effect of the original hymn will have to fade first. Give her this. It will undo the effect within seventy-two hours." Holding a small black pill in her hand, the blue haired girl handed it over.

Clicking her tongue, the woman cursed. She was behind schedule because someone was meddling in her affairs anyway, and now this! And that stupid toy of Magic was snooping around as well. Things weren't going according to plan at all. "I will call you in three days then." On her way out, she stopped. "You sound a little hoarse. Did someone else require your talents?"

"A client required me to use _EXEC SOL FAGE_. I cannot tell you more than that without breaking my contract to them." The girl had been paid quite handsomely to keep both the nature of the item and her client's identity a secret.

"One more thing. Lastation has suddenly inaugurated a new goddess. You assured me that this would not be possible." Glaring, she felt betrayed. What was the point of taking Lastation's goddess from them if they could just crown a new one?

"It **is** impossible for them to inaugurate a candidate without the aid of a Lyrateil."

"You said you killed the last of them when you took their powers. How did they do it?"

"I have not heard anything about who she might be, if you are wondering. But there must be a survivor."

"You do know the hymn for the inauguration as well, don't you?"

"_EXEC LINKER_, yes. Any Lyrateil would be able to use it. It is their birthright. By extension, I have learned it as well. Is that all?"

Leaving the room without another word, she returned to her private quarters, consisting of several rooms that were connected together, including her own large bath. They were a less noble version of Magic's quarters. Many questioned the ways she had obtained such luxurious quarters but few dared to pry into her affairs.

Looking at the blond girl that was laying unconscious on the ground, her expression changed to contempt. It wasn't bad enough that everyone knew about her, no, she even had to get herself captured by Leanbox and used in some kind of human experiment.

And worst of all, she had to wait until her memories were fully restored before suppressing them again. Dealing with her real personality was incredibly infuriating. While her knowledge pool was immensely bigger, her personality was partially unchanged even after a century of living.

Taking a glass of water and the black pill, she forcibly made the small girl swallow it, some kind of pulse running through her body twice before vanishing. Picking her up and throwing her into one of the side rooms, the one she had remodeled as a prison for the girl, she locked the door. It wasn't an excessively cruelly designed room. There was a meager bed, a toilet and a sink. She could rot in there while she regained her memories.

In an entirely different part of the castle was Noire, eating lunch with Magic. Without the sun, it was difficult to tell what time it was and her body was starting to react to the lack of a proper sleeping schedule. Magic had four different clocks, all showing different times, in her room. The one with the silver needles, Noire had figured out, was showing the surface time of the central area of the world.

The furthest corner of Lastation added two hours, the furthest corner of Planeptune subtracted one. The capital cities both barely remained in the center time zone that was now at 8 PM.

The second clock had golden needles and depicted the time in Pyraba. Unlike the surface world, there was no need to divide a day into twenty-four hours. With any given day having twelve hours, it was very confusing for people from the surface to adapt to the days that went by twice as fast.

The third clock was the first she didn't understand. The needles were glowing red and permanently standing on Five before Nine. A needle for seconds was missing and the clock itself seemed to be functional. If there was a time beyond the surface and the underworld, Noire didn't know what it would be.

The last clock was the most confusing of all. It had completely black needles and eight of them. The two largest she had only ever seen at Twelve and Six, the other six moving seemingly random forward and backward, rarely coming to a standstill.

"The first day has almost passed and only two remain. Yet I have already heard you make a name for yourself among the court and those that would regularly travel the social paths it offers. I was not expecting to see you grow accustomed to means such as this. A rare thing indeed, for me to be mistaken in my assessment of one's abilities."

"I'm happy to have entertained you." Noire was catching on to the way she said things.

Chucking briefly, Magic covered her lips with her right hand. "I see you have grown accustomed to my ways of thought. It remains to be seen if you can truly find the traitor in time."

"There aren't many who could be the traitor. I know that much. All that remains is smoking out the traitor." Noire was getting a good grip on the whole _evil_ act, that wasn't in fact as evil as she thought. In Pyraba, blackmail, threats and crime were merely part of the etiquette.

Trying the meat, she found it to be better than anything she had ever eaten before. At this point, it was foolish to pretend she didn't _enjoy_ what she was doing. Her goal had remained the same, but if one day the time would come that she had served her nation long enough and Uni would take over, she would not mind spending her days with Magic. Of course it would be even more interesting if she had the opportunity to meet the other goddesses.

"I'd like to ask you about the clocks. I know that the silver one depicts the time of the surface and the golden one depicts the time here. But what do the red and the black ones show?"

"You should not bother yourself with those two. To explain their nature and purpose would go far beyond what you would understand as you are now." Cutting her meat, Magic thought that telling Noire about the black clock would only make her unnecessarily obsessed with it.

"I've been wondering this, but what will happen to the defiled goddess once she is restored? Will Dark Lady Arfoire call her to the graveyard right away?" Noire thought that this was the obvious course of action.

"I cannot say. It is forbidden to bring back the resting, but once it is done, not I nor her majesty are to take them back to rest. In a way, they remain beyond their time, until they are killed or return to rest on their own, finding no place in the world as their time has come and gone long ago." She knew of one case that existed right now. A goddess that had been put to rest long ago, before Lastation even begun to take shape. Noire would best be not involved with such a being.

"Are you looking forward to it?" Noire could feel a certain anticipation in Magic. Something that even **she** had never seen before surely must be interesting to her.

"Under circumstances that differed from the situation at hand, most certainly. But now, I will have to both punish the traitor and resolve the crisis the taboo is causing. Even for me, it will be a bother." Finishing her meal, Magic stood up, Noire's eyes following her. Every step, every move, was meticulously calculated to make her breasts bounce when Noire could see it, to show off her noble body. And she could tell it was having some effect.

"There is something else I'd like to ask you." Noire remembered that moment she had seen Vert. "Would you know if a goddess from the surface beside me has entered the capital?"

"Yes, I would be aware if there was another goddess." Magic did not divulge the full truth. A goddess could be felt if she brought the connection to a sharicite with her. Arfoire's power would sever the link and that by itself would let Magic know a goddess had entered Pyraba. A goddess that was not connected to a sharicite however, might be able to come and go as she pleased, undetected.

"There is no way that the goddess of Leanbox, Vert, could be here or has been here within the last day?" Noire was wondering if she had simply imagined it after all.

"No goddess had set foot inside Pyraba in decades before you arrived." Magic laid down on one of her pillow isles, her chest slowly raising and falling, trying to pique Noire's interest. It was pointless and boring to simply coerce her into sharing a bed and the night. The challenge lay within slowly but surely waking her interest with subtle seduction.

"There have been many nations before the four that exist now, haven't there? What is it like to see one of them vanish?"

Magic's expression changed to a sad look, her yellow eyes avoiding Noire's look. "It is best not to say."

=== OVERHEAT ===

She woke to the sound of a robotic noise talking to someone else. It was difficult to see anything because of how dark it was. Trying to move, she found herself completely tied up. Wrists behind her back, ankles together, the chains connected. Trying to move her legs jerked on her arms. Going by just smell and sound, she was definitely somewhere out in nature. Unable to roll over or move, she couldn't even make out in which country she was or how much time had passed since her abduction.

"No, I didn't have time to make sure there were no survivors. But I doubt they were any. I shot the building from the distance, blowing it to a million smithereens. I'm getting out of here. Didn't think you Leanbox people were good for business, though. Hire me again." Setting off, the winds created by his thrusters whipped up dust and forced his package to close her eyes.

Seeing nobody else around, Nepgear strained her eyes, eventually noticing a human sized shadow where the robot had stood. And it was coming closer. Standing in front of the package, the girl looked down on her. She shouldn't damage her but it was lucky that she already came with binding devices attached. It would save them the trouble of putting some of their own on her.

Finally getting a better look when the moon came out behind the clouds, Nepgear looked at crimson red hair tied into two pigtails. She was pretty busty as well and maybe a bit taller than her. "What does Leanbox want with me?" She thought she recognized the girl from somewhere. The robot had called her a Leanbox person but she couldn't quite put a name to her.

"Business." Clicking her fingers, the girl created black cloth and used it to gag Nepgear. It would be a bother if she kept babbling. The arranged meeting time was in ten minutes so she had to wait.

With no chance of talking or moving, much less transforming, Nepgear tried to memorize as many details of the girl's outfit as she could. Black ribbons, a white hat, the emblem of a **C** on her shoulder, white boots, black stockings, the orange colored back of the skirt...

"I'm sure you will appreciate who bought you. Or more specifically, traded for you." Her voice was a little emotionless with traces of amusement. Kneeling next to her package, she took a closer look. "You seem a bit roughed up, but I guess that can't be helped. We weren't paid extra for your safety after all." Reaching out and crudely groping Nepgear, the girl wasn't impressed. "Not bad but not as good as these." Squeezing her own breasts, she let them bounce a little in front of Nepgear's face. "What about down here?"

Reaching for Nepgear's crotch, the redhead stopped just short of touching her. "I probably shouldn't. The client will be angry." Moving around and touching her butt instead, she was slightly disappointed. Getting up and walking back to in front of Nepgear, she stopped, staring in the distance. "Time for business."

Walking off, Nepgear could no longer see her after a few seconds, even with the moon, the night wasn't bright enough. But she could hear her voice loud and clear. "We brought the package."

There was a second voice but she couldn't see her either. "Good. I will take it from here. There was a special request to take her into the castle unseen. Tell Lady Vert that everything is going according to plan."

"Will you be fine, walking into Lastation territory like this? You're not one of their citizen." The first voice, belonging to the redhead, spoke again.

"I have these. They won't even see us coming."

"Good luck. Report to Lady Vert when you're back." Hearing the sound of someone walking away, Nepgear was in complete silence for a minute. She was wondering why nobody was coming. Without any warning, someone jerked her head back, pulling on her hair

"**You** are the package? That is hilarious." The voice was the same as the one that had talked to the redhead. Shooting the chain that forced her legs to her arms, the unknown girl forced Nepgear on her legs, shooting her ankle binds next, the impact of the bullet destroying the chains hurting her skin, causing slight bleeding.

Her hands were not untied and still behind her back. Something was put around her waist as well. A metallic ring. With a clicking noise, she could feel her hands get tied to the ring. There was no way she could move her arms at all like this. At least her captor undid her gag. "Who are you? Are you also with Leanbox?"

Stepping in front of her, Nepgear recognized the girl. "IF?" She hadn't seen her in so long that she didn't recognize her voice.

"Hello, Nepgear." Greeting the package, the brunette dragged the candidate away. "Get moving. I'm taking you to Lastation."

"Lastation?" Nepgear was confused. Why was Leanbox selling a Planeptune goddess candidate to Lastation? It made no sense.

"You heard me. Move." Jerking on a chain that extended from her back and connected directly to the ring around her waist and wrists, the guild member forced Nepgear along. A motorcycle was parked in the middle of nowhere. Nepgear recognized a second set of tracks on the ground, leading away from another spot. The redhead must have driven it away. But why didn't she hear the motor of it howl?

"Get on. I'm warning you, don't struggle or you'll regret it. They paid to get you there, not to get you there unhurt. If necessary, I can paralyze you with some of the drugs my contact left behind. Will that be necessary?"

"I'll behave." She was in the middle of nowhere, in Lastation territory, unable to transform, hurt, hungry, thirsty and exhausted. Struggling would be a very bad choice. Awkwardly getting on the bike, she felt suddenly almost glued to it. It was extremely painful to try and get off again. "What did you do?"

"That ring around your waist is a special alloy. It is magnetized and this bike and the ring are pulled towards each other. If you struggle and we crash, you'll crash with the bike. No way to get off without my help." Sitting on the bike herself, the brunette turned the key. With a loud howl, the engine roared, the tail pipe blowing smog in the air. "Nobody can see or hear us like this. Courtesy of modified Lowee and Lastation technology."

That explained how the redhead got away. "Why are we going to Lastation?" Nepgear wanted to know why she was being brought there. Who had paid for her?

"That's none of your business. Yet." Driving off, Nepgear was flung back but remained securely locked to the bike. Unable to hold on to her captor, she was asking herself a very important question. Why was IF dealing in things like this?

Driving through the wilderness, two small villages, Nepgear caught a glimpse of a large clock in the town they were just driving through. It was two in the morning. Several hours had passed since her prison breakout and her capture by the robot. By now, she could see the silhouettes of Lastation's skyscrapers and castle in the far distance.

IF had not said a single word since they started, merely driving as fast as she could, nobody noticing them on their way through. Traffic was negligible at this time of the night. Since she was really tired and locked to the bike anyway, Nepgear closed her eyes for a few minutes.

They opened when someone jerked on her chain again and she almost fell from the motorcycle. Disorientated for a moment, Nepgear looked around. She was somewhere underground, inside a building, by the looks of it. Had she slept the entire remainder of the way?

Making her step out of the invisibility sphere the bike created, Nepgear shivered a little. She was really cold and the cool air wherever she was didn't help.

Whistling once, the guild member took a step forward, holding a gun in her hand, loaded with highly concentrated anti-crystal bullets. A single shot to a vital part could kill even a goddess. The bullets were absurdly expensive to make, costing hundreds of thousands of credits for a single one, but very effective as a threat.

The sound of heels hitting the ground echoed through the empty lot, someone moving towards them from the distant shadows. When Nepgear saw white drill hair, a lot of skin and black stockings with black boots at their bottom, her confusion reached its peak. "Uni?"

Pointing her gun at the new goddess, the brunette's eyes narrowed. "The payment."

Uni stopped, holding out her right arm. Pointing her gun at Nepgear now, the guild girl reached for her other gun, loaded with a **very** special bullet that only one person in the entire world was capable of making. Pointing the barrel against Uni's arm, she fired, the special bullet embedding itself into the goddess's arms. No wound or sign of the shot remained.

"You know what will happen if you break the deal."

"I know. No point in telling me again." Glaring at the guild member, Uni looked at Nepgear. "Are we done? Can I take her now?"

"We're done." Holstering her guns, the brunette took a small key from her large blue jacket, throwing it to the goddess. "I'm out of here." Getting on her motorcycle, the girl vanished almost instantly, leaving behind not a trace of her ever being there.

"Uni... what did you do?" Nepgear had trouble understanding what was going on. She knew that Uni was the goddess of Lastation now, but...

"I made a deal. In exchange for obeying a single command inscribed into the bullet, they would get you to me." Closing in and undoing Nepgear's binds, Uni blushed a little. "I wanted you by my side. Out of the war, in safety. I would have done anything to get you to a safe place."

"Uni... did you ever think about what I want? Planeptune is in total chaos. They needed me there. I'm Purple Sister, I can't just sit around and do nothing while my people suffer and my sister keeps going crazier with the minute." Looking down, she couldn't believe Uni would go to such lengths to remove her from the war. "You... like me, right?"

"It's not like I did this because I might have feelings for you." Averting her eyes, Uni hadn't expected that Nepgear would be unhappy, being able to leave the war behind her.

"Uni, I can't stay here. I need to go back to Planeptune and stop my sister before she destroys the entire nation and the rest of the world. She needs me." Nepgear saw the disappointment in Uni's face. "I've known you for a long time and I always thought well of you, but this..."

"Is that so?" Uni had heard enough. If Nepgear wasn't staying willingly, she had no other choice. Whistling, several guards came running out of the shadows. "Confine her to my quarters. Don't let her out of sight."

"Uni?! If you really care about me, don't do this! I need to help Planeptune!" Being dragged away, Nepgear kept shouting, desperate to get back to the resistance.

"I'm doing this because I really love you, Nepgear. Planeptune is doomed. No matter what happens, Lowee and Blanc won't forgive Purple Heart. You'll understand that soon... I hope." Lowering her head, Uni felt horrible, disgusted by her own actions. She knew she was doing the right thing, ensuring that Nepgear survived the annihilation of Planeptune, but why did it have to come at the cost of her trust?

The other problem that presented itself was that Leanbox was proving to be a much bigger threat than she expected. If they had the capability to track down and kidnap Nepgear like this, they had much more resources than Uni had expected.

Looking at her arm, Uni wondered what the command was referring to. She had been told of the actual phrase before she agreed to the deal, but she couldn't make sense of the cryptic meaning. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Everything was upside down. The tall, green haired woman that was putting a gun together sat on the ceiling, crates hung from the ceiling and there was water falling upwards from the ground. The noise of the miniature waterfall wasn't very loud but she still couldn't hear what the woman was saying to the black haired girl that sat on the table, next to her.

Trying to move her fingers was useless. They had put some kind of metal gauntlet over her hands and fixed them in place. She had no control whatsoever. Her legs were tightly tied together as well and there was barely any feeling in them. Her blazing red hair hung down and so was her skirt, revealing her crotch for all to see. But embarrassment was the least of her worries. Her whole body was tied up like the prey of a gigantic spider. Barely able to turn her head, she spotted Nisa, still unconscious, hanging from the ceiling in the exact same way, a dozen meters away.

The cave seemed natural and reminded her a lot of a burglar's hideout. The crates, the high tech torches that offered lighting, the waterfall as a fresh water source. A fire was burning in the middle of the place as well.

Her eyes meeting those of the black haired girl, Cave witnessed the green haired woman get up and walk over to her. "That was quick. Too quick. Antibodies against paralyzing agents?" Her head was right face to face with Cave's. Judging by the distance to the ground, Cave estimated her to be at least 170cm tall, if not a little more. "Not feeling talkative?"

Walking away and over to where Nisa was, the woman held out her hand, rubbing Nisa's cheeks and turning her head back and forth. "I think I'll kill her to make you talk."

Cave felt a massive rush of adrenaline go through her body. She had absolutely no info on the woman so it was difficult to say if she was seriously going to do it or not. "What do you want?"

"For starters, information on what Leanbox is doing regarding the war. Green Heart has vanished, which is why you're snooping around in Lowee, so I assume your oracle is running the show back home. What is she planning?"

Cave couldn't just tell classified information to some woman she didn't know. The way she talked, she didn't belong to Leanbox or Lowee. Was she a Lastation or Planeptune commander? But what would they be doing out here, setting up a base like this?

"I guess I have to get serious then. Tekken, break the other girl's arms. Do it cleanly, we can't take her to a hospital. Vector: Zero." Creating a single large caliber handgun, the woman shot the steel cord that kept Nisa hanging upside down, dropping her to the ground.

Following the order, the black haired girl rolled Nisa on her stomach, grabbed her right arm first. Cave couldn't let it happen. "Stop." Maybe it was an error to take Nisa in and spend so much time with her. Even though the situation would be similar with any of her other subordinates, Nisa was special to her. "Leanbox developed a program to infuse normal people with the power of a goddess for a while."

"How far is that program along?" Looking at Tekken, the woman was ready to order Nisa's demise at any second.

"I didn't ask when we last were in Leanbox but the process itself was being refined the last time I asked our oracle about it." Cave knew that she would face enormous repercussions for this. But her feelings for Nisa wouldn't let her stay silent.

"You had drugs on you. What are they for?"

Cave had to be really careful now. If she got injected with her own creations, it would be incredibly bad. Staying silent for a moment, pretending to not want to talk about it, Cave opened her mouth when the woman raised her arm, signaling the girl called Tekken to hurt Nisa. "Poison. Sometimes the situation requires getting rid of people without making a commotion."

"Vile. How deadly is the poison?"

"They're... all deadly." Cave was a good actor. It had been part of her training. She was honest when it came to the information regarding Leanbox, because there were ways they could check up on that. Without injecting someone with her drugs, they couldn't prove anything.

"I kinda like you. You know, I dabbled in chemistry for a while and made my own virus. It infects the human body and very quickly caused organ failure. Death comes within three days. And of course, there is no antidote." Taking a step back, the woman fired at the remaining steel cord, Cave dropping to the ground. "Tekken, lock them up."

Walking a few steps away, the green haired shooter looked to Cave, a morbid smirk on her face. "By the way, Green Heart is probably dead. White Heart is a big emotional mess right now and that seems to be the cause."

"Lies!" Cave's voice echoed through the hideout. She couldn't believe Lady Vert would die just like that. And White Heart acting up because of it made even less sense. "You're lying!"

"Who knows. Tekken, get going." Returning to her desk, the shooter grinned to herself. It was worth tracking those two all the way from Leanbox. Thankfully, her Lowee hideout hadn't been discovered. She could either sell them after the contract was fulfilled or she could press them for more information and sell that. And then sell them.

Picking up Nisa first, Tekken walked over to the small waterfall and threw the blue haired girl into the same hole the water ran. With an pained outcry from Cave, the black haired girl turned around and looked at her with a confused look. "You monster! I told you everything you wanted to know and you throw her down a chasm?!" Cave tried to force her way out of the binds but she couldn't do anything.

The girl called Tekken picked her up, walked over to the chasm and dropped her. Expecting several hundred meters of fall before her death, Cave wished she had at least cured Nisa before she died. Hitting the ground after about a second of fall, Cave was confused. The ground shook back and forth and someone was breathing on her cheek. It was almost pitch black, so she couldn't see anything.

With a loud thud, someone landed on rock beside them. It was the black haired girl, carrying a torch, ramming it into solid stone. Just how strong was that girl? In her other hand was a large knife and Cave could finally see where she was. It was a several meters long and wide cage, suspended in the air by several steel wires, the small waterfall hitting part of it. The cage lid was open, for now, but she was sure they wouldn't leave it like that.

Jumping into the cage and undoing Nisa's binds, Tekken brutally kicked Cave in the stomach, knocking her unconscious for a while. Cutting her loose, they had to be able to move or else they wouldn't be able to eat, drink or do their business. They would be there for a while after all.

Closing the lid and locked it, the entire cage started to glow slightly in a blue light. It was a type of force field that rendered any kind of ability or heightened physical power useless. It only affected humans, not powerful enough to neutralize a goddess's power, but that was all they needed.

Getting back topside, Tekken walked over to the shooter. "W-we were paid to keep them locked up, right? We're not supposed to kill them?"

"They won't die of thirst down there. They can't get out and we'll drop them some food. I don't know why, but they paid us a lot extra to not hurt them more than necessary." Having Tekken threaten to break the arm of the blue girl had been a bluff. She didn't need any information either. Her job was to keep them out of the war. She didn't know the reason and she didn't care to ask. The money was good and that was all she needed.

Just as she thought about the money, she received a call. A green light lit up on the communication device on her desk. Accepting the call, it was audio only. "Yes?"

"Five million credits to launch an assassination attempt on White Heart. The goal is for you to be chased off by Green Heart and retreat. Do not get caught. One million upfront, four million after the job is done." A voice changer was being used, making it impossible to tell who was behind it.

"Time frame?" The shooter was interested but needed to know more.

"Use the intel our contact will provide. The offer expires in twenty-four hours."

=== OVERHEAT ===

Covering in pain inside her room, Purple Heart fell off her bed, her body, her mind, everything was on fire. Growling, biting her lip so hard that she started to bleed, her eyes were blood-shot and wide open. There was something... **someone** in her head!

_Destroy, destroy the humans, destroy the goddesses, destroy nature, destroy the land, destroy the rivers, destroy the sky, destroy everything. Hate, hate, hate, I hate humans, I hate those above, I hate those below, I hate everything, I hate them, I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate them._

It was like a nightmare that wouldn't leave even after waking.

_Hurt them, hurt their families, hurt the adults, hurt the children, hurt the gods, hurt the tall, hurt the small, hurt the weak, hurt the strong, destroy them, destroy them, destroy everything, destroy yourself, destroy myself, destroy the world._

Her head was about to burst. Her fingernails carving into the wooden frame of her bed, she forced herself up. The image in her mirror wasn't quite herself. Half her hair had turned to a deep purple lilac, her eyes were a deep pink and there was an insane look on her face. Her grin grew wider and wider the more she looked at herself until a bloodthirsty look dominated her face.

Growling, clenching her fists, she spread her wings, blasting a hole through the outer wall of the castle and using it to go out. A purple light, headed straight north, laughing and giggling to herself, her weapon in hand, a trickle of blood running from her lips, a frozen expression of blood lust on her face. The first rays of the sun had yet to show but sunrise was only an hour away.

Barely past the border, Purple Heart encountered the first resistance. A dozen of soldiers stationed with tents in the middle of nowhere, two armored vehicles at their disposal, they realized the impending danger too late.

Crashing into the camp from over a kilometer of altitude within two seconds, the dust cloud hadn't settled when Purple Heart grabbed the first soldier by her throat, the goddess's weapon rammed straight through the chest.

Throwing the corpse away, she lashed out with several energy shots, hitting one of the vehicles, laughing so loudly that she could be heard a hundred meters away. "Grovel, grovel in dirt, mongrels! Kneel before me!" Blood splattered all over the tents and the goddess suit before the cloud finally settled, two soldiers still standing, firing at the goddess. They didn't have anti-crystal weaponry ready, so Purple Heart didn't even bother to dodge.

"What **naughty** girls you are. I must **torture** you just a little." Raising her right hand, she fired pinpoint aimed energy blasts, shredding the legs and arms of one of the soldiers to pieces. Screaming in terror and agony, the remaining soldier panicked, running away. Not even bothering to fly, Purple Heart ran past her, growling, chasing her in the other direction. Turning tail and try to get to the remaining vehicle, the soldier was overtaken once again, falling to her knees, lowering her head to the ground, begging for mercy.

Her life took a sudden turn for the worse when Purple Heart stomped on her head so hard that the skull was smashed to pieces, pieces of the brain sticking to her boot. Looking at it like it was the most fascinating thing in the world, she looked north, the horizon rich with more victims.

Flying off, Purple Heart left a festival of gore behind. Within a minute, she reached a village, no more than possibly three dozen people living there. Descending to nearly the ground, flying over the snow, her nose barely touching it, she rushed past several frightened and confused people ascending in the middle of the village. "Thunder Gravity!" Unleashing a sphere of pure electric energy that expanded rapidly to the size of a house, it immediately started doing its job, pulling living beings towards it.

Treating it like a game, Purple Heart waited above the sphere for the first victim. A little boy, no older than ten, was the first to be drawn into her reach. With a lightning fast move, she cut the human in half, blood and organ remains splatter over the place. Turning, she spotted her next victim, an old woman. Rushing towards her, Purple Heart slashed five times, separating limbs and head from the torso. Blood splattered on her face, making her stand still for a moment before touching it with her fingers, like she had never seen the substance before. Liking it, she broke out in roaring laughter, bending backwards.

Over fifteen minutes later, the main square was a virtual sea of blood, limbs, organs and human tissue, spread in chaotic ways. Purple Heart was covered head to toe in blood and she still craved for more. More...

_Kill them all. Kill ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, a million, ten million... kill them all, destroy them all, turn the white lands into an ocean of blood and death. Destroy it, destroy it, destroy it, destroy it, destroy it, destroy it, destroy it._

With a massive explosion, someone landed just slightly outside the square. Purple Heart had missed but one soldier that had been on patrol. Informing Lowee COC, Blanc and her sisters sortied, finding a scene of such death and needless brutality that they wouldn't have believed it if they didn't see it with their own eyes. Blanc felt sick just from the smell. Thankfully she had told her sisters to stay back until her signal.

"Did you... come to play?" Slowly turning, blood continued to drop from Purple Heart's body. She looked like she had jumped head first into a red pool. "You... came to play, didn't you?"

"You fucking monster! You're... you're not a goddess, you're a devil! What kind of insane..." Blanc couldn't even swear anymore, too shaken by the extent of the slaughter. "I'm gonna kill you. I'll kill you, and then I'll turn you to fucking pieces and grind you and feed you to the dogs!"

Blanc knew it was Purple Heart because of her suit. Her hair and eyes had completely changed though. Just what had that insane bitch done to herself? Raising her ax, White Heart noticed the insane glint in Purple Heart's eyes and felt a shiver go down her back. She knew what that monster was capable of and she didn't even look like she was fully transformed yet.

Rushing at Purple Heart, Blanc swung her ax at her, the purple goddess barely blocking in time, forced on her knees by the impact, the weight and the power behind the attack. "You're so pretty... I wonder what you would...**look like all in red**." Sliding the ax to the side, Purple Heart grabbed White Heart by her throat, slamming her into the ground and pulling her through the blood and organ trails. Picking her up and throwing her away, smashing into a nearby building, the goddess broke out in laughter again.

Barely able to contain the urge to vomit, Blanc broke out of the rubble, her ax nowhere to be seen, her fist connecting with Neptune's jaw. Fully abusing the force of the impact, Blanc grabbed Neptune's arm and slammed her into the ground, both creating a crater and breaking her arm in half in the process. The screaming of Purple Heart in agony could be heard for several hundred meters. Suddenly turning her head and grinning at Blanc, she revealed what her other hand was doing. Blanc tried to reach for it, but it was too late.

Pulling the trigger, Purple Heart injected herself with the DNA of another goddess for the third time. Jumping away, expecting another brutal transforming, Blanc was surprised with nothing of the sort happened. Instead, dozens of deep purple lilac magic circles appeared all around the goddess, her arm healing and her body changing. Taller, bustier, her wings changing, her hair and eyes had already been like that time before. Blanc couldn't count them all but she figured that there would be at least sixty magic circles, all of them varying in size. And they started multiplying.

Summoning her ax, Blanc tried to slash her way through the magic circles, which proved to be indestructible. Slowly raising up, the doubly transformed goddess started to laugh to herself, first slowly, then louder, until her eyes were locked on Blanc, a sadistic look to them. "Bad girls must be punished."

The magic circles multiplied at an alarming rate by now. Taking off, Blanc would simply blow the entire village away before that monster could get off whatever she was trying to pull. Only when she actually look up, breaking line of sight with Purple Heart, did Blanc noticed that there was a colossal magic circle in the sky above the village.

And it was shifted, turning in the air. An extremely bad feeling took hold in Blanc. Rushing towards where her sisters were, Blanc took another look at the massive circle. Her bad feeling quickly became something even worse. Fear.

The circle wasn't just any magic circle. It was a massive magic barrel, pointed at the capital city of Lowee. And the caster was in the middle of a virtual forest of magic circles, protecting her. Even if she managed to get through, would she actually be able to take her? The last time, Vert needed to save her. And this time, she didn't even go through the horrifying transformation. Was she getting even stronger?

Reaching her sisters, who were looking very worried, Blanc stopped briefly and explained their next course of action. The magic circle was still moving, about a third of the way to complete vertical alignment. Both of the white sisters took a point behind the circle, Blanc taking the most important position, the front.

"Din!" Blanc put all her focus into establishing the connection to her sisters first. It was a complicated maneuver, too advanced for them in her opinion, but the circumstances didn't allow her to be picky. Small bolts of lightning were already sizzling through the air, leaking from the nearly five hundred meter radius magic circle that the monster in the village below them had created. The armored vehicles wouldn't make it in time for her to blast the entire village to dust before Neptune got off her genocidal attack.

Ram was the second to activate her power. She had never used the ability before but knew how it would work in theory. One of the unique abilities bestowed upon the three sisters by the people's faith in them, she had some rudimentary understanding of it. "Farore!"

Rom was the last in line and still monitoring the other two. A massive red energy line extended from Blanc about halfway to both of her little sisters while a green version extended from Ram, meeting the red one, creating a golden sphere at their convergence point. Focusing, she felt really nervous, unable to breathe steadily. "N-N-Nayru!" Yelling the activation word, nothing happened. They were far apart, but she could tell that it was incredibly taxing on Ram and Blanc to keep that ability up. "N-Nayru!"

And still nothing happened. With each failure, Rom only grew more nervous. After a few seconds of the second failed attempt, Blanc and Ram ceased their activation, Ram flying over to her. "Ram.. I'm so... sorry. I tried and..." Near tears, she was desperate to help. Even she could tell that a magic circle of that size was more than just serious danger. Closing her eyes and about to cry, Rom felt her sister hug her. That act made her realize just how painful and exhausting the technique was. Ram was breathing heavily, out of breath, and sweating despite the cold.

"You can do it, Rom. I know you can. You're my twin after all." Copying something she had seen some of the soldiers do when they thought nobody was looking, Ram kissed Rom's forehead. "A good luck charm." Letting go and flying back to her position, Ram was feeling slightly dizzy. She didn't expect her energy to be drained like that.

The sizzling of the magic circle was growing stronger and stronger, lightning striking the through the air, just barely past Blanc, like a hole that was so overloaded with energy that it was about to burst open. The circle's rotation was at least two-thirds done by now. "Din!" Extending her power again, this time, both Ram and Rom followed at the same time.

The moment the three beams converged, three golden spheres slowly extended, changing shape, passing through the magic circle, above it and covering the area below. Within a minute, the circle and the town below were covered in a gigantic three-sided pyramid. The walls of it were still ethereal, their work not done. Blanc was bleeding from the nose. She was great at physical combat but she wasn't as powerful when it came to intense energy based techniques like this.

The white goddess could feel her sisters thoughts through the connection their shared during the execution of the spell. _Hold out_. It was the only thing they could do. Slowly but surely, the walls were manifesting, turning corporeal, imprisoning the dangerous goddess and her magic inside. _Hold out, Ram, Rom_. The bleeding got worse.

Ram was barely able to keep floating and the technique activated. _Ram... _It was Rom's voice inside her head. _When we get back... I want to ask you something_. Ram had a pretty good idea was it was but she couldn't say so.

_Don't say that, it's a death flag for both of us_. Trying to force a smile, Ram was panting heavily. Rom was doing just as badly, sweat running down her forehead, her breathing haphazard and rapid. Both of them couldn't hold on much longer.

Down inside the now 70% corporeal pyramid was Purple Heart, looking up at the yellow energy walls with an insane look. "You are so wonderfully cute when you try so hard... but you won't stop me." Chuckling, she sat down on one of the energy circles, crossing her legs. "**I will punish you all**." Her voice cracked and her eyes widened in pure hatred. Not a shred of sanity remained inside her mind.

"Soon... soon.. soon, soon I'll be **punishing you**." Her grin grew wider with every word, her tongue lustfully licking her lips. "I can taste it... I can taste your despair, your hatred, your rage... ah... what a wonderful thrill."

Far above her, the three sisters were about to finish and be finished.. _Are you ready?_ Blanc was hoping that it would be enough. In theory, it should withstand any attack that was aimed against the nation of Lowee, but she had never considered the existence of an energy cannon like that. _I'm ready._ Ram answered first. _Me too_. Rom followed shortly after.

All three of them clapped their hands together at the same time, reciting the final part of the activation phrase. Each of them had one line, starting with Blanc, ending with Rom.

_To create the land – _

_To give the land life – _

_To create the laws that govern the land!_

**Potentia aureum!**

A golden glow emitting from the pyramid, the three sisters plummeted to the ground, like flies that bad been squashed. Hitting the ground, none of them could hear the others thoughts anymore or move. Ram and Rom were too young to handle the technique and Blanc had to overexert herself to compensate for that.

And not a moment too early. The sadistic goddess, Blanc could see her ascend to the massive circle in the air, positioned herself behind the center of her creation, sticking her hand in, electric energy leaking out, impacting on the walls of the pyramid.

Closing her eyes, an evil grin playing around her lips, Purple Heart unleashed it all.

"**Genesis Bolt."**

Several kilometers away were the armored vehicles that Blanc had ordered to sortie. They stopped when the sky lit up as if someone had turned on a skylight even further up. The roars of endless lightning hitting the inner walls of the pyramid was so deafening that it could be heard for dozens of kilometers. Even inside the armored vehicles which were nearly airtight people were bending over in pain, desperately covering their ears.

The energy nowhere to go and due to the shape of the pyramid, every single bolt was reflected downward, blowing the land below the magic cannon circle to pieces. Within the first ten seconds, over thirty meters of ground had been blown loose or outright to dust.

A displeased Purple Heart floated behind the circle, unleashing more and more of the stored up power against her prison. Seeing that there was not even a scratch after fifteen seconds, she stuck her second hand into the circle, unleashing the entire blast that remained in a single go.

What had been lit before was now blinding. For a mere second, the inside of the pyramid was nearly filled to the brim with energy. And still she couldn't penetrate the wall. As the magic circle dissipated in an anti-climatic fashion, Purple Heart watched the pyramid finally break apart, the last bolt enough to overcome the protection but not enough to send even a shred of energy beyond it. She wouldn't end it like that.

Ten minutes later, the first armored vehicles showed up, Blanc on her knees, having regained the strength to at least fly a few minutes ago. In front of her was a crater that reached over a hundred meters deep. The village was completely wiped off the map forever. But that was not what had forced the proud goddess to her knees. It wasn't enough that Vert was gone. No. She couldn't find Ram and Rom. And there were only two explanations. They had been incinerated or Purple Heart had taken them.

=== OVERHEAT ===

_Over here_. There was that voice again. A faint whisper that echoed from afar, calling her. Going down the stairs, she had become completely lost. Waking up in the morning to the call of a voice qualified very much as starting the day the wrong way in Lyrica's opinion.

Taking the stairs downward from the room she was using as her own, a courtesy of Uni for helping with the inauguration willingly, turning right, taking stairs up, passing through a library, taking the stairs down again, passing through two hallways, another room, another set of stairs, she had followed the voice for nearly an hour now. She couldn't tell why but she felt like it was the right thing to do, to follow the call.

Standing in front of a dead end, another library inside the castle, Lyrica saw a book that caught her interest. _Take it_. Pulling it from the shelf, the entire bookshelf started to turn, revealing a secret passage. _Follow the path_. It was a quiet, warm, welcoming voice.

_Take the stairs to the left_. Following the order, Lyrica didn't notice that the bookshelf cut off her path back. Going down, the passageway scarcely illuminated by blue magic spheres that floated where torches would be, Lyrica thought the stairs were unending after she had passed at least the thousandth step. _You're almost there_.

Continuing, another thousand stairs passed before she finally saw light. Reaching her destination, she heard the whisper again. _I was waiting_. Looking around, she was in a plain room that had no exits but the stairs, the same blue magic spheres bathing the room in a dim, azure light. "So I was right."

Flinging around, a blue haired girl wearing a large black hat, a white jacket and gray stocking, holding a staff, stood exactly where she had come from. "Are you Lyrica?" She was definitely the source of the whisper. Her voice was exactly the same.

Nodding, Lyrica took a step back. The girl had an uncanny resemblance to herself. "Who are you?"

"People call me Mages. But you would know me as Lyeka. I am like you." Looking at the idol with her deep blue eyes for a moment, she then turned, facing away from the girl.

"There were other survivors of the massacre?" Lyrica had trouble believing it, but the uncanny resemblance, the power to whisper to her from afar... it made sense.

"Not just any survivor. We share the same blood. Your parents were my parents. How old are you?"

"Seventeen." She didn't believe the bit about that girl being her sister. She had been too young to remember anyone, but wouldn't the people that raised her have told her about having a sister?

"I'm twenty. I was old enough back then to have recollection of having had a two year old sister. I thought you died in the attack, but it seems you're alive, even if you're not free."

"How can I believe you're my sister?" Lyrica would have **liked** a sister, but for her to appear like this?

_You know_. The whisper again. _Because this isn't the real world_. The voice in her heard made her blink, Mages vanishing in the instant she did. Flinging around, the girl was now sitting on a chair. _This room represents the very core of your being as a Lyrateil._

"What do you mean, my core?" Walking over to Mages, she took her hand, trying to pull her up but she lacked the strength. As the girl with the magician themed clothes pulled on her arm instead, she stumble and... suddenly sat on a completely different chair, one made from wood, lined with gold and padded with expensive fur. The room was furnished with countless little things, drawers, a bed, a table, four chairs, carpets, banners, chandeliers, lamps at the wall, shoe lockers, closets, another drawer, a desk, mirrors... there was so much it would be difficult to move. "Where am I?"

_This is my core._ Mages sat on the chair across the table, sipping tea from an expensive looking cup. "Each and every piece represents part of a hymn. Your room exists because you know _EXEC LINKER_ but it is also empty because that is all you know."

"Where did you learn this many hymns?" Lyrica had never met another person from her village that could teach her how to use her gift. She didn't expect that there were so many hymns at all.

"In a world that is still closed to you. A world you would think about well before entering. That you are here, that I was with you, is proof that we're blood related." _You knew_. _You knew since you entered the room_. The whisper was in Lyrica's head again.

"Am I dreaming?" It was the obvious explanation for what she was seeing.

"Yes. But in a way, you're not. This is a special realm of existence that I was able to establish upon realizing that I have a sister. It was you who inaugurated the candidate of Lastation, wasn't it?" Sitting there, legs crossed, she looked at Lyrica. She was beautiful.

_The Metasphere._ _A connection between souls made real inside our dreams_. "What do you mean **real** within our dreams?" She was getting more and more confused.

"Time has run out." Getting up and walking over to Lyrica, Mages bent forward, raising her face by her chin, looking into her eyes. "You're a Lyrateil. **Be proud**." Bending forward even more, Mages kissed her sister, who woke at the sensation.

Sitting up on her bed, Lyrica's breath was racing. She could have sworn she still felt the sensation of Mages' lips on her own. The last words still echoed in her mind. _You're a Lyrateil. **Be proud.**_

=== OVERHEAT ===

Cave felt horrible, forced to watch Nisa succumb to her lust, groping herself, fingering herself, rubbing against her partner. Even if she did something to her, the girl's lust would only go up even further and she couldn't orgasm. Seeing her like that really tugged at her conscience. She had started to care about Nisa too much to let her end up like this. If she ever got out, she would give her the permanent antidote and tell her she was cured.

Hearing sliding noises, she watched Tekken come down, holding something. A squirrel was sitting on her shoulder. "I brought you f- oh..." Blushing, she averted her eyes, embarrassed by Nisa's behavior. "What is wrong with her?"

Cave saw a chance. "We were captured by Planeptune and they used one of my prototype poisons on her. They messed up the dose of the antidote for it, and now she ends up like this unless she is injected with two of the poisons to combat the reproducing antibodies. It's a horrible fate, to have to depend on poison to stay sane." She didn't have the time to spin a better story together and she hoped that Tekken would buy it.

"I-I cannot give you the poison. There is a chance... you lied and want to... kill her and yourself." Trying not to look, Nisa's moaning was turning her on. "Put out... your hand." Waiting for Cave to reach through one of the countless openings in the cage, Tekken handed over four loaves of bread.

"She will continue like this until she dies." Cave had only once tested how long a person could endure the effects, and they had lost consciousness after a full night. She didn't know if it could actually kill her, but it was likely.

Tekken felt sorry for her. She didn't enjoy taking prisoners at all and seeing the blue haired girl desperate like that made her feel genuinely bad. Leaving them in the cage, Tekken returned to the hideout, walking to the desk. Her boss was out, scouting out the area for her next mission. With the stolen cloaking technology from Lowee and her talent for infiltration, it would be easy for her to plot exactly where she was going.

Looking at the syringes that were laid out on the table, the image of the poor blue haired girl popped in her mind again. She had told her boss that she wasn't cut out to guard prisoners and she still made her do it...

Back down in the cage, Cave was dealing with Nisa the best she could. Having stripped Cave down to her underwear, Nisa groped, squeezed, fondled her breasts, rubbing her own stiff nipples against Cave's, desperate to find release in **something**. Her mind was completely swallowed by just lust at this point.

A wild kiss breaking out, Cave pushed Nisa away and hastily fixed her clothes when she noticed Tekken come down again. "Which... which one is the poison? There were.. seven bottles." She didn't bring loaded syringes with her on mission, only the empty syringes and the drugs, stored in small bottles tightly sealed with a cork. They weren't labeled but each had a distinct color.

"The cyan colored one and the pale orange colored one." The permanent antidotes. She would lose Nisa, but it was better than seeing her go insane, or worse, die. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she gambled on the tiny chance that they got out in time to inject her again.

"You... you're not lying, right?" Tekken knew she shouldn't trust her, but if the girl really did die, her boss would have her head. It was a gamble she had to take, even if it was really risky.

"I care about her. I betrayed my country to save her from **you**. What makes you think I'd want to **kill** her now?" Cave applied a bit of psychological pressure. She was a skilled interrogator but her training to escape capture and resist torture had been minimal. Since she was very strong, she didn't expect to ever actually end up being a prisoner. Once she got back to Leanbox, she would fix that deficit.

Waiting for a minute for Tekken to return, the girl carried two syringes in her right hand, not handing them over yet. "You could grab them and inject me..." Not trusting the redhead, Tekken vanished again, returning with the two syringes laying in the palm of her hand, an iron gauntlet protecting her arm. Reaching through the cage, Cave took them, immediately injecting Nisa.

With an outcry of pleasure, the blue haired girl came, squirting from the power of the orgasm, falling flat on her back, fainting right after the pleasure went away.

"Thanks. I owe you one. You should take these back before your boss notices." Reaching through the cage, holding the empty syringes, Cave had them lay in her palm, waiting for Tekken to grab them.

Returning the syringe without incident, Cave realized at the last second that she was no different than the average human inside the cage. Even if she managed to grab Tekken and pull her forward, she lacked the strength to snap her neck like this.

"You might... get out in a few days. When the contract... ends." Ascending to the top, Tekken placed the syringes back where they had been. Down in the chasm, hanging over the abyss inside a cage, Cave touched Nisa's cheek, smiling softly, a depressed look on her face. Fixing her clothes, she snuggled up with the blue haired girl, who was a little cold now, thanks to being almost completely exposed to the cold air and water spray.

She would definitely make it out of there alive. Until then, she would enjoy her last moments with Nisa. Looking at her, she realized too late that she was incredibly in love with the self-proclaimed ally of justice.

=== END OF LINE ===


	8. Recover: CPU

**********Follow me on twitter for updates on when a new chapter goes live. twitter/KuuTenko**

**Overheat**

_Execute: 10110100_

**Recover: CPU**

Walking down a hallway, Noire had a very bad feeling. Three smugglers had been involved and two of them had been found dead, their organs having rotted away while they were alive, the third one had taken his last breath just before telling Noire what she wanted to know.

He seemed to know who had done it to him, desperate to tell Noire everything but didn't get that far. _They're planning something atrocious. Something that would upset the balance between Pyraba and the surface. From three generations ago they-_ That was all he had been able to say before his lungs gave in and his heart stopped. Noire knew she had stumbled into something much bigger than she thought. Infecting Neptune wasn't just a ploy to make the war worse. There was something else behind it.

On her way to Magic, Noire came across a blue haired girl who just stood in the hallway, staring at the ground. Walking past her, the girl grabbed her arm. "Be careful. You have become a thorn in their side." Letting go and walking away, Noire was too stumped to follow her. The girl obviously knew something but she was worried. Sticking her neck out to free a single human was one thing, but she was starting to fear for her own well being. Being Magic's companion or not, there were many influential and powerful people in Pyraba. Anti-crystal was as common down here as candy was on the surface. Anyone could kill her if they really wanted.

Reaching Magic's quarters, Noire found Magic standing still in front of the black clock, who was spinning even more rapidly than before. "Magic?"

"You did well to get as far as you did, but I fear for your safety should you continue. You have provided me with much amusement so I will grant your wish regardless. However, for the next three days, you are confined to my quarters. This is to keep you safe. I might rule this realm but there are few who envy my position and you have become an Achilles heel of mine." Focusing on the clock, Magic was wearing much more clothing than usual. If Noire had to say, she would have thought Magic a goddess, albeit one of the underworld.

"There is something odd going on. Those who smuggled the data of the goddess out of Pyraba are all dead, their organs having rotted away while they were alive." Noire wanted to report what she had found out regardless. A sign of her loyalty to Magic. Stopping her thoughts, she wondered for a moment. Loyalty to Magic? When exactly had she become **loyal** to her?

"I am aware of what is happening. I welcome your readiness to share your knowledge with me despite that, Noire. But do not be mistaken. This has gone far beyond what I had assigned you. The delicate nature of the crimes that are being committed prevent me from taking direct action and punishing the traitor."

"You are the interim ruler, Magic. How can you be restricted in your actions?"

"The interim ruler is not almighty, Noire. I have the rights to bypass many rules and regulations, but to accuse the traitor and prove her guilt will be extremely difficult in this situation. Even if successful, the gravity of these transgressions requires the full dark court to assemble in a tribunal and decide the traitor's ultimate fate."

"Can you not simply kill her?" Noire was briefly disgusted with herself for even suggesting that. She had spend so much time in Pyraba already that her way of thinking had deteriorated to this point. She needed to find a way to escape.

"Many would use my transgression against our laws as an opportunity to declare a vote of no confidence in the interim ruler. It would throw Pyraba into chaos, forcing Dark Lady Arfoire to rule in my stead until a new interim ruler is chosen, which might take months."

"And I thought that Lastation had complicated politics."

"Noire, Pyraba has been around for six generations, for nearly four thousand years, since the beginning of civilization itself. We have existed, evolved and fought among our own for longer than any of your nations have existed." Magic knew that this was true only in the most literal sense of her words. Lowee had not been a country then yet but small tribes started to gather in the icy lands. Of course, there had been no nation or name for its collective then.

"What will you do now?"

"Protect you." Magic finally turned around, her eyes narrowed, her expression serious, something Noire had not seen on her face before. "Those who do not approve of my rule or seek my position for themselves will try to use this time to make their move. To kill you and emotionally wound me will be one of their goals."

Noire's heart skipped a beat. Magic cared about her that much? She felt flattered, trying to keep in mind that Magic ruled an underground empire that operated on the very principles that the surface world loathed.

The black goddess wished she had taken the chance to speak to Ryghts before this, trying to pry the information from her on how to avoid the taint that prevented the goddesses from transforming. "Can you tell me who the traitor really is?"

"Knowledge can be dangerous, Noire. I would like you to accept that some lessons might better not be learned by experience." Magic didn't know to what lengths her enemies might go. The plan itself had nothing to do with her rule, but it provided opportunity to others to make use of it. She realized that Noire's appearance at the slaver's auction was no coincidence. It was all calculated perfectly.

The mastermind behind all of this had waited for a long time to execute their plan, scheming for possibly decades, gathering allies, spreading information to the enemies of the interim ruler. Even though she was in danger, and Noire was much more so, Magic found herself impressed. But it would not be that easy to get rid of her.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Blanc, in her goddess form, could barely believe her eyes. Before her stood the dead Vert, but she wasn't dead at all. Her clothes were different, all green, and there was a slightly haughty look in her eyes, but it was unmistakably Vert that had been brought to her. Green Heart was alive. She hadn't killed her.

Trembling, taking a few steps forward, Blanc was stopped short by a brunette with a blue mantle. "Not to fast." Her words were accompanied with both Vert and Blanc staring at the intruder. They were far outside Lowee's capital city, where Blanc had been called right after returning home, before she could even tell Mina that Ram and Rom had been taken. "Make a wrong move and I will shoot her. She will be dead in seconds." IF was completely serious. "You agreed to the contract. Now abide by it."

"Fucking little..." Gritting her teeth, Blanc held out her arm. She had been told of the trade and even though she had been extremely suspicious of it, she had to take it. And now that Ram and Rom were likely taken by Planeptune, she needed all the help she could get. And Vert would surely help her get her adorable little sisters back.

Firing the special bullet into Blanc's right arm, the bullet embedded itself into her flesh, not leaving a trace of her having ever been shot. "I'll get you back for this." Blanc didn't like being messed with. Having Vert back restored a little bit of her emotional stability, at least for the moment.

"I doubt it." Holstering her guns, IF walked away, snickering to herself. It was almost too easy. Getting on her bike, she looked up. Sunrise had been about three hours ago. They were really running her on a tight schedule. If everything went according to plan, Green Heart would go with White Heart. Driving off, she knew that things wouldn't be left to chance.

"Vert..." Blanc looked at the blonde whose signature smile was nowhere to be seen. "Where did... where did you go after the battle? I thought a cruiser smashed you!" Transforming back, Lowee's goddess walked up to the girl she had fallen so hard for.

"I don't know. The last thing I remember is being in Leanbox, talking to Chika, accessing the sharicite to reinforce the divine protection. After that, everything is a blank until I wake up in the middle of nowhere, a blue haired girl standing in front of me and that underling that just drove off taking me here." Her demeanor was different, even her way of talking was slightly different.

Blanc looked at the goddess, wearing anti-crystal choker and anklets. Just where had her captors found her? How was she not injured at all? Who were they that they had access to high level technology like anti-crystal accessories? "We're going."

"Why did they bring me to you?" Vert's disposition towards Blanc was so very different from when she had been her prisoner, every unfriendly word was like a knife stuck in Blanc's heart. "They told me I was your prisoner? How could I end up **your** prisoner? And why would **you** make any deals to have me brought to you?" Vert wasn't bound but with her powers sealed, she couldn't do anything fancy. But they were in the middle of a small forest. It was her chance.

"You really don't remember anything?" Blanc was shaken by that. So she didn't remember that Nepgear tortured her, that it was Lowee who saved her and the two days she spend in her quarters... nothing of that? Shaking her head, Blanc needed a moment. Turning her back to Vert, she started explaining what had happened.

But Vert had other plans. Using the distraction to quietly slip away while Blanc was talking, she vanished between the trees, well out of hearing range before she started running as fast as she could. **She**? Blanc's prisoner? Why would she deal with that washboard of a girl instead of going home? She had a war to win and a nation to lead. But there was something odd. Her connection to the sharicite felt weird, as if it was being tampered with. Running, it took over a minute before she could hear the washboard girl shout her name. "Leave me, Blanc, you have nothing to do with me. I don't know what they did to me, but Chika will find out once I get to Leanbox."

Covering inside a large formation of bushes, she watched White Heart soar over the forest. Oddly enough, she wasn't attacking anything. Confused by the restraint, Vert wondered what exactly had happened to Blanc. "Why does she keep shouting my name? Is she expecting me to come out or something?" Sneaking away, Vert was tall and busty but also very much quick on her feet. She didn't know her way around this forest but she only had to outwit Blanc. Not that **that** would be overly difficult, she thought to herself.

There were too many things that didn't make sense. Her body was all sore and a little numb, as if she had slept in a bad position for too long. Was this and the odd connection to the sharicite the fault of the anti-crystal she was unable to take off? Who was that blue haired girl that she had seen first thing after waking up?

Finding a cave entrance, Vert went inside, hoping that Blanc would simply give up if she burned the forest to the ground and still couldn't find her. Idle waiting for a few hours wouldn't matter in the grander scheme of things.

But nothing of the sorts happened. Waiting for fifteen minutes, Vert took a look outside. White Heart was still there, floating in the air above the forest, trying to find her. **Why** was she so persistent? Lowee and Leanbox were enemies, yes, but both nations didn't have a large marine force. Why was she so adamant about taking her prisoner and not killing her? Blanc made no sense at all.

"Stupid cunt." Vert only heard those words before she was knocked out by metal hitting the back of her head very hard. Landing on the cold stone that covered the cave entrance, the green goddess was unconscious.

When she came to, she was very comfortably lying on a bed. Her head hurt like crazy and she had no idea where she was. The walls were white, it was a little chilly and... now she knew where she was. The guards wearing the Lowee elite uniform made clear that she was in Lowee. Looking around, she saw the wide open gate to the balcony and... White Heart, who just walked in.

Not even trying to get up, expecting to be tied up completely, Vert couldn't fathom what the flatchested girl was trying to accomplish. Everything pointed towards her, Green Heart, being in White Heart's quarters. Within a few seconds and routine movement, Vert realized that she **wasn't** tied up **at all**. She was able to get up and move effortlessly. Touching the back of her head, she had even been treated.

"What are you playing at, Blanc?" Openly hostile to her captor, she really didn't understand what is going on.

"You ran before I could tell you what happened." Blanc figured that she had memory loss due to something that happened after they fought off Neptune together. She could only hope that her memory would come back.

"It doesn't matter. I don't remember any of it. Are you planning to extort Leanbox while keeping me prisoner? They're not going to let some flat-chested brat toy with them, even if I'm a prisoner." Vert briefly shook her head. Why was she so aggressive towards Blanc? She felt a strong dislike for her, one she couldn't explain. Was there something **beyond** just being her enemy?

"Shut the hell up, Vert!" Getting angry, White Heart was trying to be patient but spectacularly failing. But no matter what, she wouldn't throw Vert into prison again. Not after what happened last time. "I saved your ass from Planeptune and took you with me! They were fucking torturing you! And instead of letting you rot in my damn prison, I let you stay up here with me."

"I'd rather be in prison than be forced to look at you all day!" Her head hurt. Something was definitely not right. She didn't just dislike Blanc or hate her. She virtually **loathed** her enough to want to try and choke her. She didn't hate her **that** much, never did. "What did you do to me? Or they?" A splitting headache plagued her.

"You! Call Mina. I need those anti-crystal things removed from Vert." Blanc had an extremely bad hunch and there was only one way to make sure. The way she acted wasn't like Vert. She looked and sounded like her, but inside, she was different.

Had Blanc gone insane? After all she had just said to her, after running away and insulting her, she was going to take off the only thing that stopped her from putting a spear through her chest? At least she would be able to get the hell out and return to Leanbox afterward. She needed Chika to figure out what was going on.

Blanc stayed a few meters away, monitoring her. When Mina finally showed up, four soldiers restrained Vert, from the sides and behind, with four more pointing rifles at her. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Blanc was outraged by her soldiers acting on their own. Stepping up, she was stopped by Mina. "Mina, what are you doing?"

"They're acting on my orders. I know how infatuated you are with Lady Vert." The look on Mina's face was very much telling its own story. Blanc grit her teeth and stood back. Stepping up to Vert, who was now very much at the peak of confusion, Mina took a look the at the devices.

Infatuated? Did that girl use the right world? Blanc, infatuated, with her? Did the world go insane while she had lost some of her recent memory? Was this all a scheme cooked up by that sly weasel Oracle?

"I can remove them." Looking at Vert, Mina had to raise her head a little to see into her eyes, the oracle wasn't sure she shouldn't refuse to obey Blanc's order in this case. It was dangerous. Something was very, very wrong. The devices were similar to the ones they used, but they seemed to be rigged to respond to any level of sharicite powered blast. "If she summons her weapon, target her limbs." Mina's first and foremost duty was to protect Lowee and Blanc.

Using minuscule level blasts to destroy the binds, Mina took a step back and went into full combat mode. Goddess or not, at this range and with preparation, she could blow her head clean off. Two azure colored spheres engulfed her fists, trace amounts of steam rising from them. "Transform."

Vert had no longer any idea what she was supposed to do or what was going on. But with White Heart, the damn Azure Blaster and a lot of soldiers all waiting for her to make a single wrong move, she wouldn't get out of there alive if she resisted. Azure... Blaster? Why was she calling Lowee's oracle that?

Transforming, the light of the transition briefly covering her body, Vert turned to Green Heart. Both Blanc and her oracle looked shocked but she didn't understand why until she looked down on herself. What should have been a white colored divinity suit was completely black, covered her long legs and her arms completely. Her hair was still a bright green. "What did you **do** to me?" Resisting a little, she stopped moving when the soldiers tensed up, ready to shoot.

Before Blanc could react, the heads of all four soldiers exploded in gory messes, covering Blanc, who fell to her knees, staring at her own body. With the force of a whirlwind, a single tall woman rushed was running towards Vert, six guns floating in the air above her. "They gotta pay me extra for this shit. Vector: Three!" The guns vanishing, the woman summoned two full automatic rifles, starting to empty her ammo clips in the general direction of the oracle and White Heart.

"Green Heart, get moving!" There had been a change of plans. Instead of the fake assassination, she was to get Green Heart out of there and to Leanbox. She didn't like leaving Tekken behind, but she had no time to go back.

But Mina was very close to the sharicite and a specialist in offense. Slamming her right first into the ground, a azure colored energy wall rose from it, dissolving the bullets that were target towards her. The shooter's course changed to a circular one. Mina had her hands full protecting Blanc, who was still in shock over seeing Vert wasn't **really** Vert. Using the moment the shooter reloaded to grab Blanc and throw her goddess out of the way, a little too hard and smashing her through a nearby wall, right out of the castle, Mina could finally focus on attacking.

Coating her entire body in the azure energy, Mina appeared like she was on fire. Not even bothering to dodge the bullets, she ran straight towards the shooters. Faster than the green haired woman, Mina was suddenly in front of her, way out of the line of fire. "Azure Beast!"

Jumping out of the way by creating a magic circle right in front of herself and kicking herself off it, the floor she had just stood on was annihilated, molten stone dripping from the edges of the corner. Not letting up, Mina chased the attacker, a drop kick, forcing Mina on the ground, using her lands to lift herself off the floor and unleash a second kick at the shooters, who had to block with both rifles.

The first actual hit, both women were engulfed by thick smoke, reducing visibility to zero in almost the entire room. Mina lacked the finesse of Chika and Kei but in close quarters combat, she was a deadly enemy. Listening for footsteps, Mina rushed towards the source, and found herself face to face with the barrel of a massive shotgun. "Charge Blast!"

Focusing all her energy into her arms, Mina protected herself and still got thrown through the room. Burying her fingers into the floor as if it was molten cheese, the oracle had taken absolutely no damage.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Aiming at the Oracle again, she unleashed a second and third shot, Mina forced to use her powers for defense due to the extreme output. Each shot was a massive green energy bullet that would have torn through her if she wasn't this close to the sharicite. Retreating, the shooter knew she would eventually take a hit if she kept fighting and by the looks of the floor and her Vector Three rifles, that would end badly. "Vector: Ten!" Changing weapons again, no gun, but but a girdle appeared, with several smoke bombs attached to it. Throwing them all at once, she escaped the same way she had gotten in, through her carefully planned route.

Not any moment too early. Mina, like a bloodhound, was trying to find her but without success. At the same time, White Heart came flying through the hole that Mina had caused when she got her out of the way. "The fuck did she go? I can't see a damn thing!" Yelling, Blanc couldn't even see Mina. "Mina, you alive in there?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, it seems she has gotten away." Walking around for a bit inside the smoke, Mina reversed her stance to normal, the azure flames vanishing. "There is also no sign of the fake Lady Vert." Mina regretted never having trained in mid or long range combat. Fighting a long range type of combatant was the worst match up. If it had been a swordsman or martial artist, she would have pulverized the enemy.

"Dammit!" Hitting the wall, Blanc broke even more of it. Not only did she lose Vert, then Ram and Rom, now she had been fooled with a fake Vert. And then there was that damn bullet in her arm she had paid for that. "**Dammit all to hell**!"

=== OVERHEAT ===

The room was pitch black when Ram woke up, her body in intense pain and icy cold. She couldn't see a thing. "Rom?" Shivering, she realized upon moving that she was completely naked excluding a choker around her neck. Trying to transform, a sharp pain ran through her body, intensifying the already existing pain. Every centimeter of her body was hurting, especially her back and butt. Feeling around in the dark, she found another person's chest. Either she had been locked up with someone who had exactly Rom's proportions and hair, or she was with her younger twin. "Rom. Wake up."

Shaking her a little, her twin finally came to. "It hurts... Ram?" Feeling someone next to her, Rom got up, her body burning with stinging pain.

"I'm here." Searching for Rom's hand and finding it after a moment, she held on. "What happened to us?"

"My whole body hurts... and why am I naked... it's so embarrassing..." It wasn't quite as bad due to the fact that they couldn't see anything. Even after spending a little time in the room they couldn't even see their own hand in front of their eyes.

"It feels like I've been whipped by something. I don't know why we're naked. We can't transform either. It hurts too much to... think we're dead." Ram felt her sister snuggle up against her. It felt surprisingly good to have her that close.

"I'm scared, Ram... where are we?" Feeling her sister's arms around her waist, Rom's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't as cold anymore.

"Planeptune." With those very words, a small light went on, several meters above them. It was so dim, they could still only barely see each other. "And you will participate in one of my games." A voice they didn't quite recognize came from above. "When you say _Light_ the light will go on. When you say _Dark_ it will go out. However, you only have ten minutes of light a day. If you're thirsty, there is a small faucet in one corner of the room, just about high enough to drink from it if you grovel on the ground. There are only two liters of water a day, enough for only one of you. And of course, I mixed a special something in it. You two probably don't know what an aphrodisiac is but it will give you something to do to pass the time. Food is like water, you'll get one meal a day and its enough for one of you. I guess you can share or keep it all for yourself if the other one sleeps! It will always be at different times. I'm **very much** looking forward to what you two will do." With the end of the broadcast, the light went off.

Outside the room, Purple Heart watched the scene from a surveillance camera equipped with night vision. She couldn't quite point out why but after returning from the battle and picking up two consolation prizes, she had felt an incredibly strong urge to bully and torment those two. It was turning her on a lot, seeing them frightened, hugging each other. She would have preferred if they were a bit older but she was more interested in their pain than their actual looks.

No soldier dared to question what use her _game_ was to the well being of the nation. She wasn't torturing them for information, just for her personal amusement. After she had returned, most of the soldiers didn't recognize her at all. The transformation had worn off and the murderous urges had subsided, but she still looked exactly like when she transformed with the injection.

Leaving Ram and Rom to each other, Purple Heart walked through her room, noticing something odd in her mirror. She really had changed completely. She didn't dislike her new look, but she wondered why she felt so uncomfortable looking at it. Getting closer, there was a brief flash of someone else inside the mirror. Someone short, someone with light purple hair. "No... stay away.." She showed up again, every time she blinked, hammering against the mirror, her whole body bloodstained. "Stop it... I'm doing this to save Planeptune."

The next moment seemed to pass in slow motion. Her human self, Neptune, was staring at her with cold eyes from inside the mirror. There was no sound but she could still understand the one word the girl said to her. _Monster_. Her eyes widened in fury, her teeth grinding, Purple Heart covered half her face with her hand. "I do what I have to do. I need this power... I need to beat everyone else. Its the only way for Planeptune to survive." Her faith that she was doing the right thing wouldn't be shaken by an illusion.

Looking at the mirror again, she saw Neptune, staring at her with eyes full of contempt. Unable to bear it any longer, Purple Heart summoned her sword and smashed the mirror into a thousand tiny pieces. Her face was completely pale, and she could feel Neptune wanting to take over, but she resisted. She couldn't turn back into a human. Not now. Not ever.

Leaving her room, maybe she should cut back on the injections for a few days. The power was intense and addicting and she could feel the desire for more, but it was starting to cause serious damage to her mind. She still had to rule Planeptune. Nepgear was not fit to lead the country after all of this, she knew that much. It all came down to her, Purple Heart, conquering the planet and establishing Planeptune as it's supreme ruler.

Standing in the elevator, she realized something. She had planned to stand down and pay for all the atrocities she needed to commit to win this war after it was all over. Anything she did until recently had been a clear decision after waging good against bad. When did she start thinking that Nepgear was not suitable as a goddess? For the longest time, the people had thought of her as their goddess anyway.

_Don't be mislead._ The whisper was back. _Humans must be led by a strong leader. Nepgear is too kind_. "No, that isn't true. Nepgear can stand up for herself if she-" _She has fled from you_. "She was taken." _She is revolting against you_. "Because of you." _I am who makes you strong_. "I was always strong." _Were you? Planeptune suffered, ever since you took rule, 1600 years ago_. "I did what I had to do." _You never paid your job as goddess any heed_. "You're not making me strong. You're driving me insane." Purple Heart realized that she wasn't imagining this. There was **something** inside of her that was trying to take over. Something that **wasn't** Neptune. She needed to get rid of it before she did something she would regret. Laying Lowee to waste and blowing up an entire village was both well within reason as long as the war was raging on.

_You cannot get rid of me_. "We'll see about that." All of a sudden, she felt disgusted by the way she looked. Taller, bigger breasts, the dark pink eyes and the deep purple hair.. she hated all of it. She needed to reverse this process somehow. _You will never get rid of me._ "People also always said we will never have airships. Were those illusions I used to blast Lowee to pieces?" _You can talk all you want, but it will do you no good._

Reaching the underground laboratory, Purple Heart collected all the scientists together, each and every one of them intimidated by her changed appearance. "There are unforeseen side effects." _You're calling me a side effect? How rude._ "Essentially, it seems part of the goddess consciousness or personality has taken root in my mind." Seeing their confusion, Purple Heart sighed. "Imagine an annoying little voice in the back of your head and you can't get it to shut up." _You never shut up either_. "I also dislike this appearance." _I look ages better than you do. Just alone my breasts are-_ "Find a way to return me to normal. How far is the project?"

"It should be finished with one final injection. 12% are missing." The percentage had suddenly shot up earlier that morning, jumping from 32% to 88% in one go, much to the worry of the scientists.

"Prepare for the procedure to create her body." _What a bother. Just look into a mirror. That's what its gonna look like_."Are you certain there is no possibility that she might revive with her personality intact?" _What, you don't like me? But you're the actual giant pain in the ass around here_.

"Absolutely none." The scientists answered with certainty despite lacking conviction that it was actually true. After all, nobody had ever attempted to re-create the physical body of a goddess like this.

_Using my body as a killing machine for your means. How naughty._ "Get to work." Purple Heart was tired out of her mind. And she felt like she was forgetting something. _Lets go back and check if those two girls have started making out yet_. Ram and Rom. That is what she was forgetting. Upon realizing that her thoughts were being manipulated, she couldn't let that go on. She was still getting turned on by thinking about it, but she couldn't help it.

Back in the elevator, Purple Heart frowned. "I can't believe a freak like you used to be a goddess." _I'm not the one that sent suicide bombers and sanctioned using chemical weapons. That was all you_. "I did what was necessary." _That's what you think. But seems like the other nations are getting around fine without that._ "Lastation lost their goddess and almost got destroyed. Lowee is in ruins and I have their candidates. Leanbox has their goddess missing and probably imprisoned in Lowee." _Technicalities._ "It will be one when you're out of my head." _That's not gonna happen._

Reaching her quarters, Purple Heart passed the guards and entered her room. Checking the camera, she was disgusted by what she felt, watching Ram and Rom snuggled up in the pitch black room, kissing. _They must have drunk the water_. "I'm ending this right now." _Oh no, you won't._ As if on command, Purple Heart remained frozen in place, forced to watch. "What did you do?" Able to talk but unable to move, she considered calling for help, but that would undermine her credibility as leader. She couldn't do that. _Let's enjoy the show._

=== OVERHEAT ===

How long had she been in the punishment cage? Her body was worn out that she couldn't feel a thing. The constant noise of the waterfall had long since become normal. After that goddess had been taken, they just left her there, hanging in the punishment cage. There was no food or way to go to the toilet. She had no idea how much time had passed since she had gotten stuck here.

Nobody wanted to buy a flat-chested girl that was in the business of putting bad guys **out** of business. "Of course not..." She couldn't even be sad anymore. This was how she would die, and by the feeling of it, that would be very soon.

Closing her eyes, IF tried to pass out again. No matter how long she waited, there would be no help. It looked like she had stuck her nose into something she shouldn't have one time too much. At least she had done something with her life. She wished she could see the light of the sun one more time.

Just before her consciousness faded she felt something grab her. Maybe death had finally come, her body giving up and letting it happen. But astonishingly enough, she could still think a long time after she felt the grip. She was cold. She couldn't talk or feel her limbs anymore. Eventually, her consciousness faded.

But she couldn't even rest in peace. Two people, girls, were talking not too far from her. And she felt oddly warm. Opening her eyes, warm light greeted her and she noticed an absence of the waterfall. She had a little feelings in her arms and legs and she wasn't hanging anymore but laying. Had she died and gone to heaven? Slowly turning her head, she found the first source of the voices. A beautiful, black haired girl. Turning just a little more, she saw the source of the other voice as well. A pink haired woman with enormous breasts.

So it was hell, not heaven. Sighing, that alone being painful already, IF tried to move, with minimal success. She could tell she was laying on something soft, but not exactly what. She was also able to tell she wasn't wearing her normal clothes. "Where am I?" Dazed, as if she had been drugged, IF was struggling to speak clearly.

Noticing IF, Noire, caught up in a conversation about the value and necessity of adult goods with Magic, took a break and sat next to the girl. "How do you feel?"

"I'm not dead, that's something." A splitting headache was starting to get a hold of IF. "Where am I?" It had been over two days since she spoke to someone. It was a little weird to suddenly be out of imprisonment and have someone to talk to.

"The capital city of the Graveyard, Pyraba." Noire answered immediately. She could imagine spending a few decades down her, but she did miss the surface world quite a lot.

"Noire. I will leave you to watch over her while I attend to my duties. We will be able to continue our conversation at a later point." Standing up after Noire looked in her direction, Magic was sure that it wouldn't be long now before Noire was willing to share a night with her. She was taking interest in topics most surface people wouldn't want to touch. She was too strong to become corrupted but Lady Arfoire's influence was opening up her mind.

Leaving the room through the door, locking them behind her, Magic vanished on the spot, several black clouds remaining for a few seconds, slowly dissipating.

"Who was that?" IF, with a bit of help from Noire, sat up, still feeling like hell had unleashed all of its wrath on her.

"Magic, the interim ruler of the Graveyard." Noire saw the confusion in IF's eyes and explained further. "She forced the slavers to abort my auction. There was no insane bid for me, they simply couldn't refuse a direct order from the queen. She wanted me as her companion." Pausing briefly, Noire shook her head. "Not what you think like. I talk with her, converse and I pursue my own goals in Pyraba while she watches me struggle or accomplish it. To her, this is a small change of pace."

"Are you trying to break out?" After being a prisoner of the slavers, IF couldn't wait to get out and back to the surface.

"It isn't that easy. To break out, I would need to find a way that allows me to transform. The dark energy that is created by the **true** ruler of this place seals all of my abilities." Noire didn't want to explain everything in one go.

"Do you have anything to eat? I haven't eaten in a while." IF didn't like having to ask for food but her stomach was so empty that she didn't have any energy.

Getting up and walking over to a shelf, Noire grabbed a bowl that contained a type of food she had never seen on the surface. They were fist sized loaves of bread that had a very peculiar taste. Magic called them _Walnut Bread_ and Noire had taken quite a liking to them. Bringing the bowl to IF, Noire put it down on the ground, sitting on the pillows next to the brunette. "Eat as many as you like."

"Thank you." She really was grateful. Trying the food, she was immediately quite fond of it. It had a rich taste, a little sweet at first, though. "I hate to ask so many things, but what happened to my clothes?"

"Magic ordered you washed and dressed before you were allowed into her chambers. I specifically requested you to be brought here. For the time being, I am confined to these quarters for my own safety, so I was looking forward to having a conversation partner." Noire was starting to see why Magic was so fond of her. It would be awfully boring to spend day upon day for hundreds of years in these quarters, no matter how luxurious they were.

"I feel guilty for not being able to give you anything in return for saving me. I would probably have died if I had spent one more day in that cage." IF took a second and third piece of walnut bread.

"You will be able to help me. Once this house arrest is over, I will continue to look for a way out. And you will help me with that." Noire's way of thinking was a little influenced by Pyraba now, but not so much that she would be a selfish person. IF would be able to escape with her.

"For how long are we locked up?"

"Three days." Pointing to the silver clock, Noire read the time out loud. "It's the afternoon of the first day."

=== OVERHEAT ===

Spending the last six hours in this room, Nepgear had searched every nook and cranny for a hidden passage or a way out. But short of jumping off the balcony or fighting her way, unarmed, through heavily armed guards, there was no exit. Every single piece of technology required a fingerprint or retina-scan to function, making it completely pointless to try and access anything.

Finally returning from her duties, Uni entered the room, happy to see Nepgear. But the Planeptune candidate was anything but happy to see the Lastation goddess. "Let me go, Uni."

"You know I can't do that." She knew they couldn't attack Planeptune just yet. Ram and Rom, Blanc's sisters, were in in Neptune's possession. As long as she kept them prisoner, Lowee couldn't do anything against them on a large scale. And because of the truce, any move of Lastation against them could be seen as a declaration of war against Lowee as well. "I need you to be safe." Turning to her guards, Uni ordered them to leave the room. Nepgear wasn't dangerous or anything, so she lifted Kei's order to keep an eye on the girl. "Please understand I'm only doing this because I'm worried about you."

"I can't just sit here and let Planeptune be destroyed, Uni!" Nepgear didn't particularly hate Uni and she knew why she was doing it but it didn't change the fact that Uni wasn't thinking about **her** feelings at all. "How would you feel if I captured you and kept you a prisoner while Planeptune and Lowee destroyed Lastation?"

"**We** haven't used poison gas, massacred hundreds of thousands of civilians and eradicated entire villages from the map!" Uni loved her but she wouldn't just sit by while Nepgear played it off like Planeptune was just as good or bad as any of the other nations.

"That's exactly why I needed to be there and stop my sister!" Nepgear spat the words at Uni. She was normally a gentle girl but with the war raging on and her sister going crazy, she didn't have time for that.

"And how were you planning on doing that?" Uni didn't want to be mean to Nepgear but the way she was acting...

"I didn't get a chance to think that through because your lackey captured me before the resistance could formulate a plan."

"You have all the time you need to think here." Uni had no plans of releasing her.

"I was really hoping you would see reason. After you said you really love me, I thought maybe you'd realize that you're not thinking about my feelings at all. Only your own." They stung. Nepgear's words stung in Uni's heart.

"That's easy for you to say! I haven't seen you in so long, I don't know what you're thinking anymore." Uni switched to her human form, which looked exactly the way Nepgear remembered her. "If I knew there was a safe way for you to take over Planeptune, I would **help** you with that. But your sister... Neptune isn't sane. She blew a hole the size of this castle into the ground where a village was. If not for Blanc and her sisters, she would have destroyed the capital city of Lowee, killing millions of innocent civilians."

Nepgear didn't know about that and it came as a shock. She knew about the attack with the airships, but that she would personally do something like wanting to destroy the entire capital city? Having to sit down to stomach the news, Nepgear wondered about something else. _Would Uni lie to her to make her give up_? It was a possibility. She couldn't rule it out completely.

Sitting down next to Nepgear, Uni tried to touch her, laying her arm around her love's shoulders but was harshly rejected. Shifting away, Nepgear didn't want Uni to touch her. Not while she was being kept prisoner against her will.

The rejection hurt. Looking at her feet, Uni wondered if she was really doing the right thing. It was obvious that Nepgear was in pain, so maybe she should. _No, no, no_. Shaking her head wildly, Uni realized that she didn't have that freedom anymore. Lastation depended on her and **only** her at the moment. She couldn't let personal feelings undermine her rule.

"Nepgear, I-"

The interruption came in form of a cold glare. "If you're not going to let me go, I have nothing else to say to you."

"**Fine**!" Snapping, Uni transformed and shouted. "Guards!" Waiting for two of them to come in, she gave them new instructions. "Don't let her on the balcony." She had changed.

Nepgear was completely different from the person she had known a year ago. The kind if a bit naive girl she had known back then was now hidden beneath the front of a girl that was desperately trying to save her own nation. Uni admired that Nepgear could prioritize her nation like that but she didn't really like it on a personal level. In Uni's dreams, Nepgear would have jumped, hugged and thanked her for getting her out of that horrible place.

But was it really all that different from what she was doing? Becoming Lastation's goddess, worrying about the future of the state, allying with Lowee to deal with Planeptune, making shady deals with Leanbox... Uni hadn't expected that there would be so many questionable things she had to do just to secure Lastation's position in the war.

Sitting down at Noire's, now her, workstation, Uni's fingerprint unlocked the system. There were hundreds of reports she had to go through. And those were only the high priority ones that Kei didn't take care of. The girl was such a hard worker, Uni knew she couldn't do this job without her.

There was one report that had a particularly high level encryption and priority. Running the decryption key, a retina-scan, and turning around to make sure Nepgear wasn't spying, she opened the file. It was satellite coverage of Lowee's capital city earlier that day. It didn't show anything out of the ordinary until suddenly Blanc came flying through the wall, untransformed, dropping off the video. Less than a minute later, massive amounts of smoke escaped through the hole and the balcony door. Noticing a flash of light, Uni rewound the video and played it in slow motion. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The image was too blurry to tell the details but based on size and what she could make out, that had to be Vert, rushing out and vanishing. Fifteen seconds later, the smoke intensified again and White Heart appeared on the scene just before the video ended.

Why had there been no report from Lowee about this? Vert escaping was important news. Did Lowee try to keep it a secret for a reason? Uni already realized that in war, there were few people one could trust. And it seemed like Lowee and Blanc were not part of that group.

Admitting that Lastation was spying on Lowee was something she couldn't do. Even if she tried to play it down as keeping an eye on her allies, it would still turn her accusation into a glasshouse argument. Sending a quick message to the surveillance technicians, Uni wanted full coverage of Lowee and Leanbox from there on.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Impossible... what..." Coughing up blood, Chika collapsed, barely keeping herself from falling by supporting herself on her staff. Most of Vert's quarters had been destroyed. No matter how powerful her binding techniques were, she couldn't beat this monster. A few minutes ago, that... thing, that robot, had suddenly attacked Leanbox capital city. And it was specifically targeting Vert's quarters. And **her**.

Chika didn't just fight to protect Leanbox and Vert's possessions. She was fighting for survival, too. Her binds became useless before the immense physical power of the robot and his ax. "Cease & Desist!" Unleashing countless energy tentacles, completely covering the over four meter high robot in them. Any living organism would have had their strength drained and ended up as a helpless victim inside of that. But she was having no such luck with a robot.

"Indignation!" A single massive electric blast obliterated all the tentacles, destroying part of the floor and the ceiling as well. Swinging his ax at the oracle, he turned his weapon slightly, hitting the green haired girl with the blunt side of it, smashing her right into a wall, hard enough for her to leave an imprint.

Floating slightly above ground, the robot held out his hand, unleashing several cyan colored energy binds that slowly tied up the now unconscious oracle. This job had come in at such short notice that he didn't have time to fool around. Taking and binding her to one of the four levitation generators on his lower half, the robot was suddenly fired at by Leanbox troops, reinforcements. "Absolute!" Encasing the soldiers into far beyond sub zero cold ice, he just left them to freeze to death, hovering out of the room.

Rising into the air, the unconscious oracle tied to him, he raised his ax into the air, a small black cloud appearing right above him. "Thunder Blade!" A single massive sword shot out from the cloud, landing in inside the room whose outer wall he had already destroyed, detonating with such force that innumerable pieces of the rooms contents were pushed out the tower. Making his exit, his job was done. The specifications were to destroy the goddess quarters and kidnap the oracle without killing her.

One hundred kilometers to the north, inside a forest that was near the destroyed metropolis of Metas, Vert was taking a break, the unknown shooter right by her side. "Who **are** you? You've been dodging that question the entire way. And why are you coming with me?"

"I'm paid to get you back home. I have no idea what they did to you to change your divinity mode, but I really don't care." Looking down on Vert, who was sitting on a large rock, the shooter sighed. "Will telling you my name shut you up? This is the sixtieth time you asked me."

"Just tell me. I don't like having to call you _you_ all the time."

"I'm Capcom. Assassin, bodyguard, arms expert. Whatever you need I can get it done as long as it involves shooting people." Maybe it wasn't so bad to be a little friendly with the goddess. In war, there were always important people that had to be assassinated.

"Who hired you?" Vert was curious. She suspected Chika, who was likely the most concerned now. She couldn't wait to see her so they could find out what happened to her.

"I don't know. I'm a free agent, I work for whoever pays me enough. I don't ask questions and I always see my contract through." She had a reputation in the underworld because of her over 99% success rate. She didn't see this mission as failed, either. After all, it wasn't her fault that the plan had to be changed.

"How much did they pay you to get me home?" Knowing the sum, it would be easier to narrow down potential clients.

"Confidential. You're not my client, you're the package. Don't misunderstand, I appreciate the goddesses keeping the lands clean of monsters, and I'm especially grateful for this war, but to me, you're simply a mechanism that keeps the world going." Her eyes narrowed and there was not a trace of emotion in her voice from there on. "**But if someone paid me to kill you, I would put a bullet through your head without a second thought. No guilt. No shame. No regret. Get it?**"

Vert felt a shiver run down her spine. She had noticed Mina throw Blanc out of the room and now she knew why. She had felt the extreme professional animosity that woman carried with her. She wasn't just any hit-man. She was a professional killer. "I get it."

"We're leaving as soon as you can keep going." Not holding any weapon, Capcom had instead blue metallic parts attached to her legs and arms, capable of following Vert despite flying at speeds far exceeding anything that a human should be capable of running. Vector: X.

"You're not actually already paid to shoot me, are you?" Vert was worried by that specific example.

"No." Even if she had been, her answer would be the same. If that woman tried to escape from her because she was afraid, it would only prolong the job. Her reputation was extremely important to Capcom.

Calmly watching Green Heart, Capcom wondered what exactly they had done to her. She knew what Green Heart had looked like before and while height, weight, sizes, face, hair and abilities all seemed the same, her divinity suit, her wings, they were both different. Almost as though they had altered her goddess form. But why alter it in such a specific way? What was the purpose?

She wasn't going to openly pry into this but maybe it was just worth contacting an old friend in Pyraba to learn what was going on. The war had taken a turn for the worse several days ago. Something big was definitely happening and she was worried about getting caught up in it.

"If I wanted to hire you as protection, what would it cost me?" It was a sure fire way to stop the shooter from targeting her.

"I don't make deals with packages. If you're worried about landing on my target list, I really can't think of anyone stupid enough to want to eliminate a goddess. Not only would that be horrendously expensive but what exactly is there to gain from having a nation overrun by monsters?" Capcom knew that the only people that would **want** a goddess dead didn't have the funds to pay her. The fake attempt on Blanc's life was something different entirely.

Vert had full control over her powers and she still felt threatened by her escort. Vert didn't doubt she could beat her in a fight right here and now, but if she got away... any corner, any shadow, any moment where she let her guard down could potentially be her last. A terrifying thought.

"Are you done resting?" Capcom noticed the worried leer from Green Heart. "I'm here to kill everything that wants your head. Not kill **you**. Stop fretting over this. Now get moving." She had to get back to Tekken soon. She didn't trust the girl to keep watch over their prisoners for too long unattended.

Five minutes later, Vert was high above the forest, a trail of destruction following her below. Going in a straight line, Capcom simply destroyed rock, tree or vegetation that was in her way. Not even large monsters did anything but delay her for a second or two.

A short while later, Vert could see her home, the capital city of Leanbox. But there was something very wrong with it. Smoke was rising from the tower she lived in. Speeding up, she noticed that Capcom was either not following her anymore or had made herself invisible.

Flying around the tower, she saw that extensive damage had been done to her quarters. Luckily, the sharicite chamber was undamaged. Landing on the balcony, soldiers approached her, their weapons ready to fire. "What are you doing? Don't you recognize your own goddess?" Saying those words, Vert looked down on herself. "Where is Chika? Bring the oracle to me. I'm the victim of some kind of foreign ploy that has altered my divinity state."

"Prove you're the real Green Heart." A single commander stepped out from the other soldiers. "The real Green Heart will be able to access the sharicite and-" The commander was blown through the entire room by a blast of sharicite energy.

"Would you like me to blow the entire room up with share energy? Or was that enough proof?" Annoyed, Green Heart stepped closer to the soldiers. She didn't have the patience for this. "Bring Chika to me at once!" She needed to fix her odd divinity state.

"The oracle has been abducted in an attack less than an hour ago." The commander that had been blasted away got up. "Stand down." The soldiers obeyed her command and lowered their weapons. "I would like to know where you have been." There was proof she was the real goddess of Leanbox but there was no proof she wasn't being controlled.

"I was a prisoner of Lowee." She didn't know anything beyond that and she wasn't going to tell them all the details. "I escaped during an attempt on White Heart's life by an unknown shooter." Taking a few steps forward, Vert decided to check on the sharicite herself. She lacked the technological know-how of Chika, but she should be able to at least establish that she was fine, beside her altered divinity status.

Passing the soldiers, Vert issued other orders as well. "Fortify our borders. We cannot risk invasion by Planeptune and Lastation while our oracle is gone. Send search troops after whoever kidnapped her." Picking up a communication device, Vert also summoned the scientists that worked on the artificial goddess project.

She had to take care of that first. Two scientists that led the project showed up within five minutes. "What? Yellow Heart escaped? When? The morning two days ago?" Clicking her tongue, Vert couldn't believe there was such a big hole in her memory.

"We have succeeded in creating stable energy crystals but we were only able to produce enough for one hundred soldiers before Yellow Heart escaped. We're still repairing the damage she has caused. Currently, the expected duration of the power infusion is thirty minutes."

That wasn't much. Vert knew it was impossible to take over an entire nation within thirty minutes but it might be possible to eliminate a goddess and the oracle, to take over the sharicite. "Keep working on it. The infusion needs to hold out longer." Taking her communicator, Vert called the center of communication down below in the tower. " Status report on Red Ring. What is Cave doing?"

"There have been information leaks from Lowee and Lastation that Cave has defected and is collaborating with wanted fugitives by the names of IF, a former Basilicom member, and Brave, a massive humanoid robot. We have put her entire unit under house arrest until this is cleared up."

"Everything is going wrong." Hanging up and finally entering the sharicite room, Vert locked the door behind her. Standing in front of the green sphere, she reached out with her hand. "Access: Biological schematics." She didn't have root access, like Chika, but her access level was high enough to do what she needed to.

_Biological schematics confirmed. User recognized as goddess of Leanbox. _"Run: Diagnostic on hard drive divinity."

_Hard drive divinity diagnostic complete. No abnormalities found. _That couldn't be right. There was clearly something wrong with it. It wasn't **hers**.

"Access: DNA profile of current user. Match to current ruling goddess of Leanbox." _Running profile and matching... No match. Current user is not the current ruling goddess of Leanbox._

Vert stood there, confused. "Run origin information on DNA profile of the current user." _Origin information predating archive. Origin estimated to be 1100 years ago based on DNA profile._

Her body was trembling before the truth that was slowly being pieced together by her. "Run full profile of current user." The sharicite accessed the information it had stored, Vert waiting impatiently, every second feeling like an eternity.

_Vert, first goddess of Leanbox, established as ruling goddess approximately 1100 years ago. Hard Drive Divinity mode, Green Heart. Entry locked 700 years ago and reopened 118 hours ago. Superseded by Vert, 700 years ago, Hard Drive Divinity mode, Green Heart. DNA profile between goddesses 96% matching. Psychological profile 88% matching. Match rate of current user's psychological profile to stored profile: 12%. Match rate of current user's physical profile to stored profile: 100%._

She wasn't the Vert that ruled Leanbox in this war. She was the one that had ruled Leanbox over 700 years ago, before the current Vert took over. But then why and how did she end up with her memories, thoughts and personality?!

Falling to her knees, Vert couldn't breathe. It was too much for her. She wasn't who she thought she was. This body wasn't her own. It belonged to the goddess that she had succeeded 700 years ago!

=== END OF LINE ===


	9. Overwrite: DLL

**Overheat**

_Execute: 10111110_

**Overwrite: DLL**

Her head was a wasteland of nothing but pain. But at least she could think somewhat clearly again. The last thing she remembered was throwing herself at Cave, so horny that she couldn't control what she was doing anymore. To find herself sleeping in the arms of the very same redhead, all her clothes on, Nisa was slightly confused. "Cave?" Her voice faint, Nisa didn't know if they were being watched. The waterfall noise was still there, so the situation hadn't changed.

"How do you feel?" Cave was leaned against one of the cage's walls, Nisa resting in her arms.

"My head hurts. But I'm not feeling... _that_ at all." Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned it. Maybe she had finally build up resistance to the drug and it was her chance to get away.

"That's because I got Tekken to give me syringes loaded with the permanent antidotes." Cave held the blue haired girl tighter. "I keep the existence of those a secret but because of the situation, I wanted you cured instead of going crazy. I'm not going to apologize for keeping them a secret but I want you to know that you meant enough to me to make me sell out Leanbox secrets to keep you out of harms way."

Freeing herself from Cave's grasp, Nisa leered at her. To Cave, this reaction was to be expected. She would leave as soon as they managed to escape. If she had known that Nisa would end up meaning so much to her, she wouldn't have drugged her that badly in the first place.

"You sold out secrets?" Nisa was confronted by so many things at once, she had trouble keeping a clear head. The massive pain of her headache wasn't helping any with that. "Aren't I just an underling to you? Or not?"

"It's stupidly embarrassing but after the last day I'm ready to admit that I have strong feelings for you. There **is** the chance we're not getting out of here, so I ought to tell you at least that."

Nisa blushed like a madman. "You **love** me?" She looked at Cave like the redhead was some kind of mysterious animal she had never seen before.

"And I tell myself I'm a professional." Shrugging, Cave's expression changed. "I'm not going to dry and drug you again when we get out. You can go wherever you want."

"You're **really** in love with **me**?" With all the pretty girls around Cave, Nisa couldn't believe what she was hearing. She did assume Cave liked her a bit more than her regular subordinates but not this.

"Why is it so hard to believe? I love you. I don't care if there are other girls with bigger breasts if that's what you're worried about." Cave saw a little hope for herself at this point. If Nisa was that hung up on it, did that mean she felt something for her too?

Thinking back on it, what Cave said made sense. She always kept Nisa away from the dirtiest jobs, never really forced herself on her when she refused and always took great effort to keep her under the effects of the vaccine whenever possible. After being with her for a few days, Nisa knew that there was no _justice_ left to be found in any nation in the current war. Thinking about going back to being a loner was a little sad and painful. Cave treated her well, even if the circumstances under which they had met were horrible.

"You **really** love me? Honestly? You're not just saying that to make me feel bad?"

Pulling Nisa by her arm, Cave buried her left hand in the girls blue hair, kissing her so fiercely that Nisa couldn't muster the strength to push her away. Their tongues coming together, Cave pushing Nisa's hand on her large breasts, that close up, Nisa could see that she wasn't the only one with a blush. Their kiss ending with a bittersweet taste on their lips, Cave's face resembled her hair a little bit. "It's really unprofessional of me but I'm completely in love with you. A real pro would have sacrificed you, but I couldn't even let them hurt you."

Laying her arms around Cave, Nisa decided that if there was justice in anything in this war, then it was choosing to protect the ones you love over your country. A personal justice. And she could live with that. "I'll stay with you, for now. I... like you."

"We have yet to escape, anyway." Smiling and messing up Nisa's hair a bit, she kissed the girl again. "You really want to stay with the girl that drugged you, tortured you and made you her slave?" She didn't want Nisa to decide something out of guilt.

"You also kept me out of the dirty things your unit did, you always looked out for me and... well... that is..." _The sex isn't bad_. She couldn't say it but was able to see that Cave understood.

"I'm happy you want to stay with me. But unless we get out of here..." Cave looked up and her stomach growled at the same time. "We're going to have a real problem very soon."

Nisa looked up as well. It was impossible to determine if anyone was upside or not because of the noise the waterfall constantly. "I've seen this in a pirate movie once." Nisa realized that the cage was very much suspended completely in the air. Getting up, unable to stand but able to crouch, she threw herself against the wall of the cage, got up and threw herself against the other wall.

It only took a moment for Cave to catch on. Given the circumstances, this was better than not doing anything at all. If they managed to destroy the cage or bend it enough to get through a hole, they were free.

Swinging back and forth, Nisa managed to get her arm injured when one side of the cage rammed into the rocks. Bleeding slightly, she refused to stop now. Within two minutes, the cage was horribly bent out of shape, with Cave and Nisa equally out of breath. Trying to force herself through the opening in the grid, Cave was, as a wink of irony, too busty to fit. Nisa on the other hand barely managed to get through. Hanging on the outside of the cage, she jumped, barely holding on to the rocks. "Be careful!"

If the shooter was upstairs, things would get ugly very, very fast. Climbing the wall, Nisa jumped to the left, hiding just next to the waterfall before she got high enough to scan the area. Looking around, there was no sign of the shooter at first. Waiting for a bit, impatience being a fault of hers that Cave was trying to correct, the blue haired girl spotted Tekken, sleeping at the desk.

Cave by herself would have sneaked up and killed her with a single blow, Nisa thought. But she wasn't a cold blooded murderer like that, not even towards people that imprisoned her like this. There was nothing arguable about it, that would be plain _evil_.

If she was asleep, there was no need to take risks and attack her. Going back down, Nisa had full access to her powers now, being outside of the cage. Bending the bars apart, she opened up enough of an opening for Cave to fit through. She couldn't hide a grin over Cave having been stuck due to her bust size.

Both of them getting up, Cave spotted Tekken as well. Before she could take even a single step towards her, Nisa held her back. "She gave you the vaccine to cure me, right?" Whispering, they could barely understand each other due to how close they were to the waterfall.

"Sparing her now will come back to haunt us later." Cave sighed. "But you're right." Losing the murderous glance in her eyes, Cave took the lead, looking for an exit. A single set of stairs lead up to freedom. "What movie did you see to get the idea with the cage?"

"I forgot the name. Something about the Caribbean?" Running up the stairs, Nisa felt a little weird. "You really gave me the permanent antidote, right? I'm feeling a bit lightheaded."

"You probably have a fever. You were... naked for a bit." Cave only hesitated for a moment. Reaching another room, it was full of crates. Passing through, the Leanbox operative summoned her four gadgets, all of them quietly floating around her. "I don't like having to leave behind my drugs, but it's too dangerous to get our stuff."

"What are we gonna do next?" Nisa could already see the light of the evening sun beyond the next set of stairs.

"Go to Leanbox and report." Cave had a bad feeling about this whole war now. There was something big going on.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Vert, the Vert that was over a thousand years old, was laying on the ground, unconscious, knocked out by a blow to the back of her head. A tall, green haired woman, Capcom, was standing behind her. "I only said I wasn't going to kill you." There was not a trace of guilt in her voice. Able to sneak into the room with her gear in time, she had waited until Vert had let down her guard.

Taking a small black notepad out of her pocket, it was torn and horribly aged, she took the hand of the unconscious Vert and bit her right index finger. A few drops of blood slowly trickling out, she put her finger on an empty page of the notepad. "_Commencing subliminal memory writing._" A high pitched voice came out of the book. It gave Capcom the creeps.

The notepad filled a page with seemingly endless amounts of zeros and ones only to erase it and fill it again. Each process only took the fraction of a second. She didn't know what the notepad was doing to her and she didn't care. She was being paid very handsomely for this, although her client was likely not the same as the one that had changed their plans and paid her to escort Vert to Leanbox.

Patiently waiting, Capcom looked at the share crystal. There was something going on with it as well but she couldn't tell what. It kept flashing in two different shades of green only to turn black for a few seconds. It was giving her a very bad feeling. Like she stood in front of a bomb that was ready to blow up, taking the entire continent with it. She knew that sharicite were extremely dangerous creations, packing enough energy and power to obliterate several hundred kilometers of space with ease.

Hoping that her job wasn't to blow up Leanbox as a whole, terrorism was not quite her thing, Capcom looked at the goddess that still peacefully laid on the ground, her index finger connected to the notepad. She didn't understand how it worked but some kind of extremely high-level magic had to be at work there.

"_Memory writing finished. Commencing sequencing of orders._" This time, Vert's body started to spasm under the effects. Checking her eyes, Capcom was worried that it might kill her. But thankfully it only lasted for twenty seconds. "_Order sequence established._" As soon as the last word was said, the notepad went up in flames.

Putting on her gear, a mantel, gloves and helmet, that made her invisible, Capcom had to wait until Vert came to and opened the door. Right now, she was locked in. Waiting in the furthest corner away from the door, invisible, Capcom kept standing. There was no way to know when she would have to suddenly make a run for it.

It wasn't until ten minutes later that Vert finally came to. Looking up, she blinked a few times, seemingly trying to make sense of what happened. Looking at herself, her expression remained completely calm. Standing up and reaching out to the sharicite, Vert issued a new command. "Authenticate current user."

"_Current user validated as the currently ruling goddess of Leanbox: Vert, date of origin: 1100 years ago."_

Looking satisfied, Vert stepped away and the door opened. Because she had even made it there, Capcom had vanished from the room, silently and unseen.

Opening a communication line, Vert called for the chief of staff, Chika's and her direct subordinate. "Cave is hereby declared an enemy of the state and so are all her subordinates. They are all to be executed before sundown. Anyone seen or suspected of aiding former operative Cave will be charged with treason and is subject to execution when proven guilty." Vert was going to get things under control. And getting rid of all spies and traitors was the first step towards doing so.

Changing the channel, Vert contacted her COC. "Send a private communication request to Planeptune. Tell them I have something to offer that they cannot reject." Vert had things to do. And one of those required her to obtain something that only Planeptune could offer.

"Lady Green Heart, what about the issue of your divinity-" The soldier was cut short.

"The sharicite confirmed that it is a minor physical condition. There are no changes to my ruling capabilities or battle prowess." Vert's voice made clear that this was the end of that discussion. Walking around in her goddess form, she felt slight discomfort. As if she was forgetting something very important but had no idea what it was.

Ten minutes later, an unknown goddess faced Vert over the video terminal. "I see I'm not the only one dealing with physical alterations." Vert was staring at Purple Heart's changed appearance.

"What do you want Vert? What can you offer that I would need?" Purple Heart was having trouble keeping control over her body. After being forced to watch the White Sisters make out with each other for nearly two hours, she had finally overcome the voice in her head, shutting her up for now.

"A way to get that **thing** out of you." There was not a trace of insecurity in Vert's demeanor. "I know you've been experimenting with the DNA of a resting goddess, trying to re-create her so you can use her as an obedient super soldier. And things went wrong."

"I'm listening." She would find the leak in her research department and plug it. If necessary by killing every single scientist on the project and replacing them.

"Leanbox has the technology to force a goddess' divinity energy out of her. What you have inside you are leftover energy from your transformation that didn't purge correctly. All that you need to do is have it drained and you'll be back to normal." _As normal as you can be called anyway_.

"What do you want for the technology?" Taking it by force was one option Purple Heart was considering but there was a high risk associated with it being lost during the attack. She was aware of the alliance that Lastation and Lowee had going on, and she didn't need to add Leanbox to that.

"Ram and Rom." Vert was starting to wonder where exactly she had learned all of this. There were vague memories but nothing clear. Maybe she had learned part of this from Blanc. But the most important thing right now was to get Ram and Rom. She needed them.

"No. They're the only reason Lowee isn't attacking us yet." Purple Heart wasn't afraid of Blanc or Lowee but she didn't want to take unnecessary risks. After realizing she was being heavily influenced by what Vert called _leftover energy_, she had stopped taking huge risks.

"I need Blanc to be gone as much as you do." Vert felt a burning hatred towards the ruler of Lowee. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about her that made her want to kill the flat-chested girl.

"Reports say you saved her life during the attack I personally led against Lowee recently." Purple Heart had no recollection of any transformation beside the time she was sealed in by Blanc and her sisters.

She had no recollection of that. Not that it mattered. "Things change."

"What do you intend to do with the White Sisters?" Purple Heart didn't care about their well being in the slightest. If they could be of political use, she would use them. If Vert planned to execute them to send Blanc a message, that was Vert's business.

"That doesn't concern you. I'm offering you a deal. I named my price. There won't be negotiations about this." Vert turned to the side, ready to close the channel and call the trade off. Pressuring Neptune was the right thing to do.

"How will we exchange goods?"

"You will give me Ram, I will give you the first part of the technology. Don't even bother thinking about trying to create the remainder yourself. You will need weeks. And you don't **have** weeks, do you?" Pressuring Neptune even further, Vert needed to make sure that Leanbox was regaining its power. Taking the White Sisters was the first step to do that. "Once your research department has verified the viability of the technology, you will send Rom to me and I give you the remainder of the tech."

"What stops you from screwing me over?" Purple Heart wasn't that gullible.

"The Lowee-Lastation alliance. They're a bigger threat that you are giving them credit for. There won't be anything official between Leanbox and Planeptune but lets just say that my eyes might be shifting to Lastation and only there if the trade comes through."

Purple Heart saw it as a chance. If Vert was mindless enough to turn a blind eye to Planeptune, she could use that chance to infiltrate the southern nation. She was not above using terrorism to advance her plans. A few well placed chemical bombs in the capital city and as soon as Lastation or Lowee were out of the race, she could take Leanbox out. "Fine. When do you plan to arrange the trade?"

"Midnight. Monolith city." A city on a small isle to the north-west of the Leanbox main island. Planeptune influence was close but the massive coastal base kept any Planeptune naval forces from even trying. Closing the channel, Vert thought about it for a moment.

Trusting Planeptune would be foolish. She didn't doubt that they would go through with the trade to create the pretense of trust between the nations. But that girl was undoubtedly planning something. Just like she was. As soon as she had the White Sisters, she could advance to the next step of her plan.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Nepgear longingly looked west, the moon illuminating the dark night with its pale shine. After watching Uni at work, after seeing Planeptune from the outside, after seeing how the people reacted to Planeptune and the massacre in Lowee... Nepgear had trouble believing that her sister could be saved.

She still had to try, no matter what, and if she failed, she would go down with her. That was her resolution. But what Uni showed her gave Nepgear the feeling that she was guaranteed to fail. Planeptune had so many things that made the world hate them. Even if Neptune tried to mend her ways, there was an immeasurable thirst for retribution.

Standing out in the cold, someone laid a blanket around her shoulders. "You know why I took you by force, don't you? Trying to take over Planeptune by launching a civil war will not make the people forget the crimes and atrocities the nation has brought on them."

"I'm part of that Uni." Taking the blanket, Nepgear felt cold. Uni, in her human form, stood next to her. "I was part of everything, knew about things like the poison gas attack, until just recently. I'm as guilty as my sister."

"You want to go back and stop her because you can't agree with the methods anymore, right?" Uni had taken a massive damper to her enthusiasm of having Nepgear around. "I just can't let you run blindly into your doom."

"Then help me! Don't keep me as a prisoner but help me take control of Planeptune! Lend me whatever you used to become Lastation's goddess!" Nepgear whirled around, dropping the blanket to the ground, an intense look on her face.

"And then what? You **fight** your sister? She isn't going to stand there, let you get to the sharicite and be inaugurated uninterrupted! It's dangerous to have two goddesses synched to the same sharicite, Kei said. If a fight for control breaks out, it could send the entire nation flying."

"Then what am I supposed to do? I can't just stand here and let my sister destroy herself! Planeptune is my home! It's been my home for 1600 years, Uni! I can't throw that away!"

"I can talk to Blanc and negotiate about inaugurating you as Planeptune's goddess. But Purple Heart will have to pay for what she did. Under her orders, Planeptune troops killed hundreds of thousands of people. Do you have any idea how much hatred the people in Lowee and Lastation feel for her?"

"Don't talk about her like that..." Nepgear couldn't even say something like _It's not her fault_ since it clearly was. "I don't know why she went off the right path. There were ways to fight this war without having to resort to inhumane tactics like what she is doing now."

"We all did things we can't take back. I killed hundreds if not thousands of soldiers in battle. Their families must hate and despise me for it. They will never forgive me. But that is the lot of people that lead. Neptune has gone much too far and will have to answer for what she did."

"Uni... is there nothing I can do to make you let me go?" Nepgear was desperate to at least **try** to save her sister. Even if Planeptune was destroyed, she didn't want her sister to die. Spending one and a half millennia with her, Nepgear couldn't imagine what it would feel like to suddenly live in a world without her.

The temptation to offer her a trade, becoming her lover in exchange for letting her go, was immense but Uni resisted it. After seeing how sad Nepgear was, she didn't want to further injure her. "You won't give up on her?"

"Would you give up on Noire, even if she did horrible things and had the entire world against her?"

"I made a dangerous deal to get you out of there, Nepgear. And I can't bear the thought that you leave here and never come back. If you were killed, I don't know what I'd do." _I'd destroy Planeptune. I'd burn it to the ground._

"So don't let me do it all on my own. Help me. Please." Nepgear didn't like to have to beg but what else was there she could do.

"How do you feel about me?" She needed to know.

"If I said... I love you I'd be lying. I like you, I always liked you. But in this war, I can't just allow myself to fall in love, especially not after seeing how it made you act without thinking about my feelings at all."

Uni was hurting, hearing those words. Not only because Nepgear didn't return her feelings the same she had hoped but because she, herself, was the cause of that situation. "I can't talk you out of this, can I?"

"Uni..." Nepgear could tell just how much the girl was hurting because she couldn't return her feelings. Not now. Not with Planeptune at the brink of turning the entire world against it, if it didn't already happen. "If you really care about me... help me save my sister. It would mean the world to me."

"If my sister was here, I would go with you." Taking Nepgear's hand, Uni got a little closer. "I wasn't honest with myself for so long... and I thought that eventually I would be able to just tell you what I felt. But it wasn't until the war started that I learned how important it is to say what you really feel."

"Even though I swore I wouldn't get involved in love during the war... Uni... if you save my sister, I don't care about any stupid oaths. I like you and it was always fun to be with you so... if you can save my sister and stop Planeptune from being razed to the ground, I'll be with you."

Taking a step back, Uni shook her head. "I don't want you to _trade_ your love." Averting her eyes, Uni bit her lip. "I want you to like me for who I am, not for what I can do."

"Let me go then, Uni. Or help me. Help me out of the goodness of your heart." Holding on to Uni's hand, Nepgear was begging her to do the right thing.

"What if Neptune doesn't want to be saved?" Uni considered that the most likely possibility.

Nepgear never considered that. She always thought that deep down, Purple Heart was crying for help, wanted to be stopped. But after she had thrown her own sister in prison, she didn't know anymore what was going on. "I... I don't know." Turning towards Uni, Nepgear shook her head. "I need some time alone."

Walking away, Uni followed. "Escort her to a secure guest room. No guards inside." She didn't want to make Nepgear any more uncomfortable than she was now. And forcing Nepgear to sleep in the same bed she did was just going to make her look desperate.

Locked into a guest room, Nepgear sat on the bed, sighing. What should she do? Uni was trying to reason with her and that was a start, but what if she was right? What if Neptune didn't **want** to be saved or stopped? Could she fight her sister?

=== OVERHEAT ===

Their lips separating, Lyrica stumbled back, coughing, sweating, her head spinning. It wasn't just that Mages, her self-proclaimed sister, had kissed her but she had felt **something** surge through her, taking root inside her soul. Looking to the side, she saw a large mirror that didn't show herself but Mages when she looked into it.

Wiping off her lips, she wasn't exactly excited about being kissed by her sister. "What did you do? Where did that mirror come from?"

"It embodies the existence of EXEC SPHILIA within you. A grown and fully trained Lyrateil can pass on hymns to their blood relatives like this. Sex works better in the event of trying to share more powerful and complicated hymns but it seems that your mind has been poisoned by the outside world. You hated my touch, did you not?"

Hate was too strong a word but there was a definite unpleasant feeling rooted deeply within her when she thought about kissing or sleeping with her sister.

The room shifted, Mages' core being all around them now. As usual, it was filled with objects, too many to count them all. The mirror she owned stood in the exact same spot as the one Lyrica now possessed. "The hymn allows us to communicate no matter where we are. It is a very complex if not consuming hymn to use. To teach you the use of it normally would require months of training and the world is at war. We do not have the luxury to wait that long, nor do you have the possibility to meet me in person and let me instruct you."

"Why do you need me to know it? I'm just a prisoner in Lastation." Lyrica wondered what the purpose behind it all was.

"You're my sister and possibly the last of our kin beside myself. I need you by my side." Mages sat down on one of the chairs. "Before our village was wiped out, this was how hymns were passed on between mother and daughter. I learned what I know over long years of study but you grew up without that."

"Isn't it a bit unnatural for sisters or blood relatives to..." Blushing at the idea of sleeping with Mages, Lyrica sat down as well. Even after everything was said and done, she wanted to talk to Mages more. She had never met anyone else who knew much about Tonelico.

"Society has branded incest with a stigma for no reason. What difference does it make whose blood runs through my veins? Would you have known I am your sister if I had not told you? Would you have looked surprised and put off after I kissed you had I not told you?"

Lyrica couldn't answer those questions with yes. The girl was making valid points. There were reasons for men and women of the same blood to not be together but between sisters...

"Over two thousand years ago, we learned the art of Hymnos from the Grimoire of the World, the counterpart to the Tome of the World, Planeptune's oracle. We were supposed to be the one maintaining the sharicite but their oracle did not trust us. She created the oracles by linking a single person to each sharicite and our people were tossed aside as nothing but aides and teachers." Mages voice was unchanged but there was a slightly bitter look in her face.

"Are all the hymns related to the sharicite?" Lyrica wondered just how deep Mages knowledge reached. To know things from 2000 years ago was impressive.

"Many. There are several exceptions, such as EXEC SPHILIA. Lyrica." Calling out her name directly, Mages forced her attention on her. "There is much more I need to teach you. There is a limit to what your soul space can take in this way, so I will need to visit you every night. Some hymns are more powerful than others and will prevent me from teaching you more than part of it at once, while others are easier to learn. SPHILIA only leaves space for a little more, which is why I will teach you a hymn for self-defense."

"Lyeka, where... where are you in the real world?"

"I'm not within the human world. But I am putting things in motion to have you released from imprisonment soon." Getting up, Mages felt the Metasphere shake. There was a time limit to how long they could stay inside. "Do you still find the thought of kissing me disgusting?"

"It wasn't disgusting, just... weird. I never kissed anyone before, too, so..." Blushing a little Lyrica didn't feel well admitting that to the girl that was claiming to be her older sister.

"Relax. This hymn will serve you well." Standing in front of the sitting Lyrica, Mages laid both her hands on her sister's cheeks and looked into her eyes for a moment, waiting for the idol to close them.

Their lips touching again, Lyrica felt something flow inside of her. It was more pleasant than before, now that she was willingly accepting it. A wild and short hymn that had a bold but also defensive nature. Almost forgetting about the kiss, she instinctively closed the gap between their lips when Mages tried to break away, extending the kiss just for a few more seconds.

Embarrassed over what she did, Lyrica opened her eyes a bit late. Mages was gone and she was laying in a bed, inside of one of the guest rooms. _EXEC HYMME CLOSSPHERE_. That was what Mages had left her. The power to completely immobilize her enemy.

But there was something else. During the moment she received the hymn, she got a glimpse on Mages' soul. It was dark and hazy but there was one image she had seen very vividly. A young girl's silhouette, standing among a sea of blood and fire, staring at the distant sky that was colored red and black, with nothing but pure hatred in her eyes. An image she would never be able to forget.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Chika woke to the sound of people talking. Her head, and remainder of her body, was killing her. Right, she had been beaten in combat and... abducted, by the looks of it. Opening her eyes, bright light blinded her right away, making it difficult to see anything at all.

"What are we doing with her?" A loud robotic voice echoed through the room.

"We haven't got any orders regardin' that so I was hopin' you two had any idea. Either of you heard from Capcom?" A sassy female voice.

"Not I." A different robotic voice, much deeper than the first one.

"Me neither. So what now, sell or kill her?" The first robotic voice again.

Chika could hear someone going through papers based on the sound they were making. Judging by the volume of the voices, she figured that they were at least half a dozen meters away. Trying to move proved to be pointless. She was tied up tight and couldn't feel any power from the sharicite. She must be over ten kilometers away from it, beyond the maximum range for oracles.

"I'm for selling her. She's got a pretty face, big boobs and good curves. She'll fetch a nice price. And as long as they keep her away from Leanbox, she can't do a thing."

"Do what you wish." The robot with the deeper voice made an annoyed sound, followed by a stack of paper being slammed down

Silence followed and eventually, the source of the bright light was moved, letting Chika see. Looking up, she laid eyes on an extremely pale skinned, flat-chested girl with green hair, wearing a gray coat and hood. "Who are-" Her words stuck in her throat, Chika was suddenly looking at herself.

"I'm the oracle of Leanbox, Hakozaki Chika." Chika's own voice answered her. Even the clothes had changed. The size of her breasts, her height, it was all exactly the same as Chika.

"I prefer when you do the redhead." The robot with the more crude way of talking shouted over from the other end of the room.

Turning her head, Chika figured she had to be in some kind of factory. There was heavy machinery everywhere and all she could see beyond the guard rail in the distance was a massive robotic head. "Who are you punks?"

Chika regretted her choice of words when her copy kicked her in the face. "Cut it."

"It's _shut_ it, Linda." The massive robot laughed. Her grasp on the surface idioms was a little rusty to say the least.

Changing instantly back to her, supposedly, normal form, the flat-chested girl buried her hand into Chika's hair, pulling her up by it. "You'll fetch a nice price with the slavers. Hey Judge! What the hell happened with that goddess you dumped down?!"

"Lady Magic used her power to take her before they could sell the girl." The voice came from the distance, shouting.

"Well, I'd take her any day, too. Brave, I'll flip a coin. Head you take her to Badd, tails, I go. You good with that?" Still holding Chika up by her hair, the oracle was gritting her teeth in pain.

"I need to go down for maintenance anyway. Just gimme the merch, I'll take her." A massive arm extended over the guard rail, the hand alone big enough to function like a mobile prison.

Changing on the spot again, Linda gained a few centimeters in height and a lot of cup sizes. Chika would have recognized the hair and clothes anywhere. That bitch could turn even into Cave? Just able to think that before being thrown through the room, landing in the robot's hand, Chika felt like a car had hit her with full force.

"I wanna go and take a hot bath or something. I've been running all around the place. Bringing that stupid bitch Purple Sister to Lastation, stopping boobzilla from running away in Lowee, I'm so fucking sick of it." Already turned back to her normal form, Linda headed towards the exit. "Judge, I'll leave ya to hold down the fort. I'll go to Pyraba and get some treatment. Turning into those girls with ridiculously big boobs is hurting my back like crazy."

"How exactly did she end up as our leader again?" Brave looked towards Judge.

The black colored robot kept quiet, going through papers again. He didn't care for the misbehavior of the other two. Working with them had its plus points but their chatter was definitely not one of them. Both were professional at what they did, however, and that was the only reason he tolerated them.

Not getting an answer, Brave left, a massive gate opening as he approached, giving him space to pass through. Several minutes later, Judge was still there, waiting patiently.

"Report, Pirachu." Judge didn't even look up.

"Things are crazy in Pyraba. Several nobles are moving against Magic-" The voice stopped suddenly when a slight electric shock sizzled through the air. "**Lady** Magic. We still don't know what Cyan Heart is planning but she has brought back Yellow Heart. She has met with the Blue Reaper and paid her handsomely but I don't know what for."

"Keep monitoring her. After that fiasco in Atelier, Lady Magic wants you out of the surface world and watching her enemies in Pyraba."

"I got it."

=== OVERHEAT ===

Drawing water from the nearby river, the red haired girl sighed. How long had it been since she last saw the sun? A few weeks? Months? There was no real way to tell. She slept when she got tired, watered the crops when she was awake and continued to build her modest abode into something worth living in. Right now, she hadn't even slept in a bed for multiple days.

Carrying the bucket back to the small hut she had built over time, she almost dropped the bucket when she saw that her visitor had opened her eyes. Most of her body bandaged, a particularly bad wound on her back, she had kept her hydrated by force but she didn't have the means to make her eat. Quickly filling a large clay cup with water, she went to the make-shift bed, a large wooden frame filled with animal pelts she had skinned from all sorts of animals that got lost in the cave system.

Helping the large chested girl drink, the redhead tried talking to her. "Do you understand me?" The woman nodded. "Can you talk?" Shaking her head. "More water?" Another nod. Giving the woman three more cups, she finally was able to bring out a few words.

"Thank you for the water. But... where am I? Who are you?" She didn't think there was any need to introduce herself.

"Inside an ancient plantation facility in the underground of Lowee. I'm Falcom." Explaining a little more about the situation, the girl was happy that she had **someone** to talk to. Talking to the turnips had gotten a bit weird as of late. "I found you some time ago in the river while I was fishing. You were badly injured and your clothes were all torn up. I did the best I could to nurse you but it took you... a few days I guess, to wake up."

"Why does this sound like you're stuck down here?"

"Because we both are. The only way in and out is a system of caves and I have spent countless hours trying to find the way out. There is fresh water here, crops grow easily and sometimes wild animals show up. I survived down here for a few... weeks or months. I can't really say. I hope this isn't rude, but who are **you**?"

"I'm Green Heart, the goddess of Leanbox. I was... trying to get away from a battlefield when I was captured by Planeptune troops. A crashing airship helped me get away during a struggle but I was badly injured during it. I don't remember the rest." Not bothering to try and get up, Vert could tell that it would end in disaster. She was still in bad condition.

"I've never seen a goddess up close. What is the Leanbox goddess doing all the way north in Lowee? We're supposedly several dozen kilometers north of the capital city. At least that's what I believe."

"Could we not talk about what I was doing there? I was not attacking Lowee, if that is what you are wondering. I was helping Blanc defend her land against Planeptune."

"I was gone for so long that Leanbox and Lowee became allies? That's amazing."

Vert didn't quite know how to explain to Falcom that she had been Blanc's prisoner and ended up helping her because she felt a bit attracted to the short girl. She hoped that Blanc was doing okay. And she kind of wanted to see her. And maybe tease her a bit.

"When I recover, we will get out of here." Being able to fly would surely come in handy. Vert didn't want to put any additional stress on her body right now so she didn't transform. As a goddess, she would be fully recovered in maybe one or two more days.

"Growing crops inside this cave is very boring. There are special crystals attached to the ceiling, giving off light for the plants. The ground is very rich, too, and it never gets too cold or warm. It's good to finally have someone to talk to. You don't know another girl called Falcom, do you? She's my kid sister."

"Sorry, I've never met someone like that." Vert was fighting the need to close her eyes. "Could I take advantage of you for a little longer? I feel very tired."

"Just sleep. I have the crops to take care of." Leaving Vert to herself, Falcom was hoping that the blonde was really able to get them out. She was getting very sick of eating vegetable stew again and again. She really needed to ask her little sister to teach her how to cook.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Around 4 AM, a single guard in the basement of Lastation's castle vanished behind a corner, a redhead and three soldiers hiding the unconscious girl and taking a roundabout route of stairs and less traveled, barely guarded paths. Reaching the middle level, their first big obstacle popped up in their way in the form of a guard patrol.

Signaling two of the soldiers to hide around the corner, the redhead stumbled out of cover, slurring and swaying back and forth. "Ah... shit.. where... did I leave... my damn uniform. Lady Kei is... gonna fry me..." Acting drunk, the patrolling guards caught the redhead, keeping her steady.

"That's the fourth drunk recruit today. When are people going to stop this? We're only at peace with Lowee, not the rest of the world." One of the guards looked to the other. Within a second, both of them had their world turned white. Hammering her fist into their stomach, Falcom knocked both of them out. Killing them would only put the whole operation in jeopardy. Infiltrating the Lastation castle had been hard. They wouldn't get a second chance at it so there was no room for screw ups.

Stripping the guards and locking them in a room, two of the soldiers stayed behind, securing their escape route. Falcom and a commander, dressed up as Lastation guards, ascended further into the tower. After receiving information from a spy that Nepgear had shown up at Lastation castle, they had started a mission to get their leader back. Freeing Purple Sister and escaping was something they had to accomplish if they wanted the civil war to tip in their favor.

The spy wasn't sure where exactly Nepgear was kept but it had to be somewhere in the uppermost ten floors. She was a goddess candidate after all and it made no sense to assume that Lastation's new goddess would imprison her after having her kidnapped.

Finding a particularly heavily guarded room, two guards to the side of the door and two more on each end of the hallway, Falcom realized that it would be impossible to take them all out without raising the alarm. Utilizing what she had heard before, she marched straight towards the guards, shouting. "A lot of the rookies are causing a ruckus down below! We're having trouble making sense of who belongs where. Got any help you can spare?"

Looking at each other, four of six guards walked towards Falcom. "I could use a break." "She isn't going anywhere either way." "The rookies are causing a fuss again?" "That's why I said Lady Kei shouldn't just let anyone apply."

Walking off with them, the commander that had been with Falcom was hiding in an empty room, waiting for them to pass. Within a minute, she left her hideout and approached the other guards. "Have you seen a redhead? She and I are supposed to relieve you, but apparently she thinks that being at peace with Lowee means we're at peace with the entire world."

"She was just here, asking-" With a single hard punch, the first guard went down. The second one took a knee to the face and then to the stomach, collapsing moments later. One didn't become a commander in the Planeptune army without having some considerable skill in hand to hand combat.

She prayed that this was the right room. Knocking twice, she first got no answer. Knocking again, she contemplated briefly what the guards would call Lady Nepgear. "Purple Sister?"

"What is it? Its the middle of the night." A drowsy sounding Nepgear was answering from beyond the door.

Quickly entering the room, the commander walked up to the bed Nepgear was now sitting on, kneeling. "Lady Nepgear, we have come to free you and take you back to Planeptune."

Nepgear couldn't believe her troops had actually managed to infiltrate the Lastation castle. If Uni caught them, they would be executed as enemy operatives, no doubt. Before she could make a decision, the girl called Falcom showed up. "We have to go." There was a little blood on her cheek. "I had to get rough because there were four of them but they're all alive."

Not losing a second, Nepgear jumped up, following Falcom and the commander back the same way they had come. Falcom stayed behind for a moment, putting the two soldiers the commander had knocked out into the room before catching up. Her own four victims were locked in a small library a floor below.

Meeting up with the two soldiers that secured the escape route, they had taken out two patrols. With those numbers of guards missing, someone would notice that there was something wrong soon.

Reaching their entrance point, Nepgear hesitated. She wanted to trust in Uni but with a chance like this at hand, she couldn't risk ending up her prisoner. "Sorry, Uni."

Making their escape in the dark before sunrise, Nepgear occasionally looked back towards the castle, where Uni would no doubt wake up soon and find her gone. She felt guilty for hurting her feelings and escaping, but fact was, she couldn't take risks and believe in Uni's convictions changing.

"What is the situation like in Planeptune?" Nepgear hadn't been gone for long but a lot of things could happen during a single day in war time.

"Purple Heart's behavior has become irrational, even more so than before. She captured the White Sisters and tortured them for fun for a while. Earlier tonight, she traded them for technology to Leanbox. We don't know what has happened to them after that."

"Leanbox? Did their oracle make that decision?"Nepgear was surprised to find out that Leanbox of all nations wanted the White Sisters.

"Supposedly, Green Heart has returned to the nation."

"_Supposedly_?"

"They have increased their military surveillance tremendously. All of your spies have either been out of contact or fled the nation. It is possible that some have defected, as well."

The situation had gotten significantly worse than Nepgear had expected. "What about my sister? Any more atrocities she has committed since then?"

"The is a rumor that her physical condition was the reason she agreed to trade technology with Leanbox. We have no confirmation on that, yet."

Reaching their escape vehicle, the same hovercraft they had used to flee Planeptune prison, Nepgear was happy she didn't have to run anymore. It would be morning before they reached Planeptune territory but with this much of a lead, Lastation troops surely wouldn't be able to catch up with her.

She couldn't let her sister run wild anymore. She supported her and if that meant she had to protect Neptune from her own bad decision, she would do just that.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Morning came and with the first rays of the sun, Ram and Rom woke inside a large bed. The first thing both of them noticed was that they weren't naked anymore. The last thing either of them remembered was wildly kissing each other. After that, everything went dark. "Ram... where are we?"

The room was well furnished and the bed was spacious enough for three adults to fit inside with ease. Shelves, closets, desks, a mirror, carpets, the room was very high class. But there was something else Ram noticed. Getting up, she saw a camera hanging on the ceiling, inside a translucent sphere. They were being watched. "I think we're still in Planeptune. But why did they give us some clothes?"

They weren't wearing much. Panties, a night shirt, only things for the night. Ram looked to her sister when her younger twin grabbed her hand. "Are you still feeling... that?"

Blushing, Rom shook her head. "I'm fine... but... I'm a bit scared. Why are we suddenly here?"

Kissing her twin on the forehead, Ram hugged her afterward. "I don't know, but if they put us in such a great room, they probably aren't gonna hurt us."

"Uhm... Ram... did you... enjoy what we were doing in the dark?" There was no way she couldn't think about **that**. Despite Mina's best attempts to keep them innocent, they had occasionally caught some of the soldiers doing naughty things. They were smart enough to not ask anyone about it or try to imitate things, though.

As if to answer her question, Ram quickly kissed Rom on the cheek. "There is no one else I would want to do these things with." Grinning a little bit, she watched Rom blush from the innocent kiss. They had been a lot less innocent while imprisoned in the dark room but there was nothing forcing them into it now.

Both of them grabbed each others hand at the same time when the door opened. But upon seeing who was there, they relaxed a bit. Wearing a completely green dress, Vert showed herself before them. "Vert!" Trying to jump up, Vert's expression stopped them short.

She had no recollection of meeting them before. "Is either of you physically injured or in pain?" She needed them, mostly, unhurt and in good condition if they were to fit into her plan. After being told by a soldier she had paid quite handsomely for the info of what Neptune had done to them, she had changed a few details of her plan. "Answer."

Shaking their heads, the twins were surprised by how cold Vert was to them. "Vert, what happened to our big sis?" Ram swallowed hard when Vert glared at her with obvious hostility.

"I told you to answer."

Looking at Rom and then back to Vert, Ram shook her head. "We're fine."

"A bathroom is beyond that door. If you're hungry or thirsty, knock on the door and a soldier will bring you whatever you need. You can transform if you like, but you will not be able to utilize any of your goddess powers regardless." A natural evolution of the anti-crystal accessories that suppressed a goddess power. It was easier to prove they were the real Rom and Ram if they could transform even with the power suppressants on them. "You're in Leanbox and you will stay here for the time being. It depends on Blanc when and who gets to go home."

Turning around, Vert looked back one more time. "And it is **Lady** Vert, White Sisters." She would treat them well. After all, one of them was going to be a permanent guest.

Leaving the sisters inside the room, Ram was the first to transform but unable to create any kind of energy sphere, summon her weapon or use her wings. Even her physical power was exactly the same as her human one. Pulling on the choker she was wearing, Ram couldn't get it to move at all. "Shaking her head, she remained in her goddess form for now, Rom transforming as well, trying the same things and getting the same results.

"Looks like we're stuck." The situation wasn't entirely bad, Ram thought. Compared to the dark prison cell they had been in before, this was much, much better. Checking on the bath, there was a shower, a big tub, toilet, sink, another mirror, towels, shampoo, lotion, everything a girl could want. There was a shelf full of books in the main room, too. Ram preferred to draw all over books, especially Blanc's, but lately she had found that reading wasn't too bad either.

Taking a closer look at the bed, the camera and everything else, Ram found that the camera was turned off. It didn't move and the lights on it were dark. Did Vert not care what they were doing? Ram was happy that she wasn't be watched, but- Looking to the bathroom, she heard water running. Taking a peek, Rom was watching the tub fill up with hot water, still in her goddess form.

Smiling innocently, Rom raised her finger. "Mina would never let us bathe when transformed, so..." She liked her goddess form a lot. She looked just a tiny bit more grown up in it.

Joining her sister, Ram approved of the idea. Mina was very strict with them whenever possible, especially when it came to using their goddess forms for nonsense like playing tag in the castle or flying through the hallways.

"But what are we gonna do now?" Ram wondered out loud. "Vert seems really angry, so I wonder if Blanc did something to piss her off."

"I think Blanc might like Vert." Rom had felt that way ever since talking to Vert in Lowee. The Leanbox goddess was surprisingly nice to them despite being the ruler of an enemy country. And Blanc had been really sad when she was suddenly gone after the big fight.

"You think?" Ram thought about it for a moment before starting to chuckle and finally breaking out in laughter. "They would look so comical together!"

"That's horrible, Ram..." Rom pouted a little. If her sister could be happy with Vert, she very much wanted things to work out. But that didn't seem very likely to happen with Vert keeping them prisoner. She wondered what Blanc was doing.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"I see life as a guild member is never boring." Noire had made herself comfortable, listening to IF's adventures if they could be called that. "You've seen most of Gamindustri. Did you ever suspect there was an entire world below ours?"

"Something like **this**? No. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that all counterfeit materials, all illegal wares, anything that could even be related to crime on the surface is being manufactured here." IF sat in a chair on a table, enjoying a cup of wine. The gross difference between her situation not even 24 hours ago and now was almost ridiculous. She was still a prisoner of sorts, though.

"Pyraba is also the source of the anti-crystal all four nations have been using to protect themselves against goddesses and candidates. To us, they're as deadly as poison to humans."

"This Arfoire-" IF was quickly interrupted.

"**Lady** Arfoire, or even Dark Lady Arfoire if you want to be polite _and_ respectful." Noire was trying to teach IF about etiquette in Pyraba, something that was of high importance at the dark court.

"What exactly **is** she?"

"I've asked Magic the very same question. It is a long story." Noire reached for a goblet she had taken a liking to. It was made from blackened steel, matching her dress and hair in color. Nipping from it, she liked the alcohol in Pyraba. It was very strong but also much more refined than the one on the surface.

"We're going to be locked up for one and a half more days, roughly. And I'm curious about this." IF grabbed an apple from the table and took a bite out of it. It wasn't completely fresh but still very tasty.

"At the beginning of Gamindustri civilization, 4000 years ago, a single woman, the leader of the first nation, became a goddess. A human turned into the very first goddess. The faith of her people was so great and the number of those people even greater than her power was supposedly unmatched by any other goddess ever to follow. That woman created the goddess system."

"How did she become a goddess without the system being in place?"

"Even Magic didn't know that." Noire shrugged. "The goddess system was adjusted over time to become what it is today. When she felt that her life was nearing its end, she didn't just die. You know of Celestia, right?"

"The mythical place above Gamindustri that only goddesses can access?" IF had heard of it on her travels.

"600 years after she rose to power, the True Goddess split into three. Her conscience became the realm of the goddesses, Celestia. Her desire became the Graveyard. I heard from Magic that Pyraba is build on top of the actual _real_ Graveyard and this is simply called the Graveyard as a means to an end. Now, the third part she split into is something the integral to the goddess system."

"Lady Arfoire." IF made the connection. "What part of her became Arfoire?"

"Her sense of duty. Magic refused to tell me when and how Arfoire founded Pyraba but judging by the complex and confusing layout of this place, I'm thinking at least 3000 years ago."

"That's an insane amount of time. I can't imagine there were actual nations around that long ago." Finishing her apple, the story having distracted her from eating, IF was amazed that someone could live that long. "What exactly does Lady Arfoire do?"

"According to Magic, she fulfills several duties. One, she keeps the real Graveyard sealed and the goddesses at rest. If, hypothetically, someone managed to kill Lady Arfoire, then all the goddesses souls, so to speak, would wake up. Second, she calls a goddess to the Graveyard when they're about to be replaced by a new goddess. Third, she puts them to rest, separating their body and soul." Noire wasn't looking forward to having to undergo that treatment. She would rather spend a few centuries in Pyraba than to _rest_.

"I'm surprised that a goddess like you would be that respectful of her." IF had always taken the goddesses for a rather proud and arrogant bunch.

"There is a good reason why I said _hypothetically managed to kill her_. She didn't even **move** and almost killed me. A human like you would probably not survive more than a few seconds just being around her. I'm sure that if she wanted, she could single-handedly put a stop to this war."

"Did you ask her to do that?"

"According to Magic, she only actively took action once, 1600 years ago, when a nation by the name of Tari was completely destroyed. I can't tell you what she did, Magic wouldn't say."

"You have been talking to this Magic a lot. You look pretty fond of her, too."

Blushing a little, Noire's old habit came through. "It's not like I like her. I just keep her company. She has interesting things to say. That's it. I'm not actually interested in being friendly with her, got it?"

"Okay, okay." Sighing, IF got up and took one of the numerous books from a shelf. It was written in a language she couldn't read. Checking a few more, she finally found one that was written in a modern tongue. _The physiology of Ancient Dragons and Dragonkin_.

"I hope Magic is doing okay."

In a manner of speaking, she was.

Each step had the sound of her heels hitting cold stone echo through the catacombs. Wielding a scythe twice the size of her own body, Magic's yellow eyes were glowing threateningly in the dark. What gall those worms had! To send mere assassins after her!

Swinging her scythe, the magic construct cut cleanly through the torso of an attacker. Raising her hand before the torso could fell, Magic shot a single sphere of blue towards the already killed opponent, freezing the upper part of his torso solid. Hitting the ground and bursting into a million tiny fragments, Magic's eyes searched the dark halls for more enemies. "Whose fool's errand are you on? Speak and you may yet live through this!"

But nothing came. These men had been paid handsomely to keep their mouth shut and if they had the gall to attack her, they knew how minimal the chance for success and getting away alive was.

Raising her hand, Magic whirled her scythe around, deflecting a few thrown knives before a small ice crystal formed into her hand, glowing ominously in a dark light. "I release you to do my bidding, Celsius."

Crushing the crystal in her hand, Magic couldn't let anyone live after standing against her with hostility. It would be a sign of weakness. In front of her materialized a blue skinned woman, an icy aura surrounding her. "Kill everyone." The order left no empathy, guilt or regret in her voice. She was the queen of the underworld. Those who crossed her would die. It was a rule as simple as having to breathe to keep living.

Turning around and letting the summoned spirit run amok, Magic slowly walked away, a single opponent jumping out of his cover, swinging a massive two-handed sword at her. Grabbing the sword, freezing the metal to the hilt and crushing the blade with her bare hand, Magic slammed her scythe into the ground, grabbing the man by his throat. "Foolish human. You should have known better than this." Flash freezing his entire body, Magic smashed him into the ground, turning the human into a million microscopic shards of ice.

Picking up her scythe, Magic vanished into a mass of dark clouds. She had to learn who wanted her dead badly enough to resort to crude methods such as this. Until she had dealt with them, Noire would not be safe. And she had invested too much time and interest into her to just let her be killed. But it was also amusing. It had been over two-hundred years since the last hunt. And once she had found her prey, she would hunt it until they wished she would just kill them already.

=== END OF LINE ===


	10. Inject: Trojan

**Overheat**

_Execute: 11001000_

**Inject: Trojan**

The late afternoon. After receiving a highly encrypted message from Leanbox and an operative had dropped off the necessary decryption key in person, Blanc finally had proof that her sisters were alive. And well. It was a recording, but the latest Leanbox newspaper was shown to prove it was from the same day.

The twins, both still in their goddess forms, were waving at Blanc and telling her how comfy their room was but also how much they missed their sister. The recording of them lasted for five minutes before the image changed, showing Vert inside the sharicite chamber.

"Blanc. I rescued Ram and Rom from Planeptune where they were subject to torture. I will return Rom to you under two conditions. First, Lowee is not to attack anyone with its army. If others initiate an attack, you can respond with as much deadly force as you want but do not leave your territory. Secondly, you will announce an official, temporary ceasefire with Planeptune and Leanbox, stating that Lowee is focusing on rebuilding before it continues its efforts in the war." Making a brief pause, Vert's expression softened a little. "Whether you accept these terms or not will not influence the way Ram and Rom are treated. They are precious guests of mine and will remain that way if you should decline. If you need a reason for why I am doing this, consider this. The last few days have been extremely stressful not only on us goddesses but even more so on the people. They require a moment of peace, even if superficial and forced."

The video ended there. Blanc sighed deeply, both relieved that Ram and Rom were safe and horribly confused what the heck was going on with the fake Vert. "How is she able to rule Leanbox? Isn't she a fake?" Blanc turned to Mina, who was looking very much like there was something she wanted to say. "Mina!" Raising her voice just a little bit, Blanc startled her oracle. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Its just that..." Having lived for over a thousand years, Mina had forgotten a myriad of things over the past centuries. But after seeing her in person and then on video, she had a bad hunch. "This could be Green Heart, but not the one we all know. Leanbox was formed 1100 years ago and back then was ruled by a goddess of the same name as the current one. Vert, Green Heart. I... I don't know how this would happen or if it is even possible, but... if we assume it is possible to revive a dead goddess, this would be the original Vert, the one that was replaced 700 years ago."

Normally, the thought would have seemed ridiculous to Blanc. But after facing Purple Heart in battle twice after she transformed again, it wasn't so farfetched anymore. But why would anyone want to bring the original Vert back? Was it because _her_ Vert had died?

Starting to feel depressed again, Blanc walked away, trying to pick up a cup of tea, only to fly into a fit of rage seconds later, remembering that moment when Vert had called her cute, smashing the cup into the ground, hiding her eyes behind her hands. She had enough already of feeling horrible over what had happened! Even in death, Vert was still toying with her heart.

"Lady Blanc..." Mina was worried about her goddess. She had to go through so much lately, it was hard to even try and cheer her up.

"Did Vert set a deadline?" The voice of the white goddess was a bit murky and shaky. Blanc was trying hard to hold back her tears.

"It doesn't appear so. But we should make a decision soon." Mina saw no hope of breaking into Leanbox capital city and rescuing the twins. Leanbox had always been a rough place and even though it became calmer in the recent decades, their soldiers wouldn't stop to ask who's there if they spotted an intruder.

"I want Rom back as much as you do, but calling a ceasefire... I don't know what Vert is planning but it can't be good." Blanc walked to a window. The sun was going to set within the next two hours. If she was going to announce the ceasefire today, she would need to make a decision quickly.

"For all that its worth, Leanbox has not been involved in any major military struggles as of late. If they are trying to create a ceasefire between nations, they must have good reason after all that time to recover they had. It is possible that they're laying a trap and plan to launch a surprise attack but our non-aggression pact with Lastation should prevent that from happening. They would immediately become the target of every other nation on the planet." Mina was not only serving as oracle or governmental aide to Blanc. She was also helping her as an adviser in military matters. She had lived through several wars, although none were as bad as the current one, giving her plenty of experience.

"I'll think about it." Blanc couldn't decide if it was worth letting Planeptune live a little longer to get Rom back. If she just destroyed that eyesore of a nation, Leanbox would find itself outnumbered very quickly. On the other hand, threatening Leanbox could result in Vert seeing herself forced to make more use of her sisters. "Mina, how are the shares?"

"They're zero point seven percent down since the attack but also one point one percent up since we formed a non-aggression pact with Lastation. We're ranking second with twenty-seven point two percent." She didn't need to look these things up. Checking on the shares was her job, first and foremost.

"Call Lastation and ask them what Planeptune and Leanbox are doing. If possible, I want to talk to Uni face to face, with you at my side. We allied to take care of Planeptune and now Vert is trying to force me into a ceasefire. There is something else to this."

"Isn't it too dangerous for both of us to leave? There will be no one to defend Lowee in the case of an attack." Mina couldn't leave the capital to fight anyway. Her powers diminished greatly the further she got from the sharicite.

"That's why I need Lastation to look into Planeptune and Leanbox activities." Blanc wouldn't leave for an extended period of time unless she could be almost sure that there was no risk of an attack.

"I will contact Kei then." Mina bowed slightly before walking away.

"You and Lastation's oracle, how long have you known each other?" Blanc held her back by asking a question.

"Can we talk about this another time?" Mina couldn't answer that question even if she had wanted to. It had been centuries and memories from that long ago were long gone. She kept an extensive number of virtual diaries reaching all the way back to five centuries ago, when she first realized how many things she was just forgetting. At best, she could search for an answer in there.

Not saying anything in return and letting Mina leave, Blanc sat down at the table, resting her head on the surface. Why did Vert have to die before she could rectify things? It would haunt her for decades, maybe even centuries, at this rate. But she really couldn't think of anything that would stop her from thinking about it. Vert could be condescending, self-centered, arrogant and often had her priorities backwards, but in the short time she had been her company, she had also learned that she had some good qualities, too.

Beating herself up over it again and again wouldn't change anything, Blanc knew that. Right now, she should be focused on Ram and Rom and getting them back from Vert. Knowing her little sisters, Blanc thought that separating them could in the end cause more harm than it did good. They were so close, being hundreds of kilometers apart wasn't exactly the best state of being for them.

It was a moral dilemma. Leaving them with Vert, if she kept treating them well, would keep them together and probably safe. Having only Rom returned to her would separate them and even though she would be reunited with her little sister, she generally left their education and supervision to Mina. It was depressing that **not** taking one of them back was the better choice for them.

Mina had gone to the sharicite room first, checking on Ram and Rom's connection to the crystal. _Root access granted._ "Run diagnosis H on current candidates." As Lowee's oracle, Mina knew a lot about the sharicite system, believing herself to be on par with Kei's knowledge of it or even superior. Of course, she didn't compare to Histoire, who created the entire system to begin with.

_Diagnosis complete. Divinity levels normal, physical condition normal, mental condition minor deviations. Elevated sexual drive and unnaturally high levels of endorphins. Divinity energy connection normal, share energy connection abnormal. Critical error in distribution. Share energy is being rejected by candidates._ Mina wondered what exactly could have caused that. And she was feeling very uncomfortable about their mental state. Opening a video screen in mid-air, she played the video of the twins again. There was no sign of them being abused in anyway. She did however notice that they were playing with each others fingers. Not thinking anything of it when she first saw it, knowing that their mental state was slightly off, she did realize that they were **awfully** close. Towards the end of the video, Ram kissed her sister on the cheek, causing the short haired girl to blush intensely.

Mina had tried so hard for centuries to keep those two from learning about those things. One day out, and all her effort went to hell. Sighing heavily, she was happy that at least it didn't seem like anyone else was doing erotic things to them.

Leaving the room and heading to her private quarters, Mina's room was very modern. She repeatedly changed it over the years. The one thing that never changed, however, were her bookshelves. Blanc's desire for reading had come from an influence she had on the goddess in her early days. Roughly 20% of the castle library were pretty much books she was storing there, due to lack of room in her own chambers.

A high class bed with curtains at each side, a large desk with an even bigger mirror, three closets, carpets on the floor and her own private bathroom, which was almost as big as Blanc's and the remaining space was filled up by eight book shelves, filled to the brim. A few framed images were standing on the desk. One of her and Kei from 200 years ago, another one from her and Chika, 80 years ago. They were taken in times of peace, when corporate fighting was the **only** kind of fighting going on.

Taking out the uppermost drawer from her desk, Mina emptied it carefully, took a ball pan, removed the lead and stuck it through a tiny hole in the bottom of the drawer, raising a fake bottom. Beneath that was a small crystal of bright azure blue. It was **her** crystal. Putting the drawer back together, Mina returned to the sharicite room, the azure crystal, that was barely bigger than the tip of her pinky, in her hand.

Putting the crystal on top of the sharicite, Mina left and locked the door, so only Blanc could open it. That crystal was her insurance when leaving the capital. Every oracle was given one like that by Histoire upon taking on the job. It allowed them to store share energy and take it with them. For a short time, they could fight as if they had the sharicite directly with them.

Heading towards the COC, Mina hoped that with the coming ceasefire, people would be able to rest for a while. The war had taken its toll on everyone. There were so many bodies still to retrieve and even more to bury. It would cost a fortune to rebuild the capital city and there was also the matter of resources being a problem if the devastation of the lands kept going on.

Sending everyone else out, Mina wanted to talk to Kei by herself. She had a high opinion of the girl with the tomboy look. And maybe even a little bit of affection. She was cute and a hard worker but much too stiff. If she could get her to loosen up a little, she would make for a great date.

Thinking about that, Mina sighed. It was one of the drawbacks of living for centuries. Humans were born, lived their 70 to 100 years and then died. There were many exceptions in both directions but one thing generally always held true. An oracle lived for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands. To fall in love with a human was a sentence to despair when they grew old and eventually died. That only left the goddesses, their candidates, other oracles and non-humans as love interest. Chika was heels over head in love with Vert, so one of Mina's primary options was Kei.

Thinking about Vert and Chika, Mina wondered how exactly the Leanbox oracle had reacted to the _other_ Vert showing up. But right now, there was no time for that. Opening a secure line to Lastation, a special line that had been established after the non-aggression pact, Mina first reached an officer, who had to call Kei.

Waiting, Mina wished she had a cup of tea. When Kei finally arrived, she showed up with horrible bed hair, her head looking like an exploded mop. Mina had to try very hard not to laugh. "Kei, this is highly classified. We need to talk alone."

"Get outta here..." Waving her hand, Kei's behavior left both the soldiers and Mina in awe and shock. That was so very much unlike what she was normally like. "Mina...? Is this so urgent? I only slept for one hour after fifty hours of working straight."

She preferred this Kei over the regular one. "Yesterday, Green Heart was delivered to us. But it looks like she is not the real one." Mina omitted her theory of it being the first goddess of Leanbox."She escaped and made it all the way to Leanbox. We don't know how but Planeptune handed Lady Ram and Lady Rom over to them. They're now _guests_ of Leanbox. They're asking us to call a cease fire with Leanbox and Planeptune."

"Why are you calling me about that? It's your decision whether Lowee calls a ceasefire with them or not... well, I suppose Blanc's decision, not yours." Yawning, Kei's eyes were half closed and she was seemingly in danger of falling over. Drooling a little, she was the polar opposite of what she usually was like. Her clothes were in a state of catastrophe as well. They must have dragged her out of bed.

"Lady Blanc won't make the decision without knowing what is going on in Planeptune. She wants to talk to Lady Uni face to face about the state of things." Pausing and hesitating just a little, Mina figured this was as good a chance as any. "I'll buy you dinner in exchange."

"Fine, fine... I'll talk to Lady Uni. Just... lemme get some sleep first, okay? I'm a bit beside myself when I don't get any sleep." Yawning loudly, Kei didn't even bother to cover her mouth. Mina was liking this Kei more and more. So the secret to make Kei loosen up was to fully exhaust her. That wasn't very useful. "I'll get back to you in the morning."

"Thank you. You look kinda cute with your hair all messed up by the way." Smiling, Mina couldn't stop herself from commenting on it.

Tugging on her own hair, Kei made a slightly annoyed face. "Wanna see you show up for a video call with bed hair..." Yawning again, she was ready to fall asleep. "Anythin' else?"

"Get some rest." Mina chuckled and ended the call. In a way, it was to their advantage that Lastation had inaugurated a new goddess. Black Heart likely wouldn't have agreed to a non-aggression pact or the face to face talks in the first place.

Thinking about Ram and Rom and what they were doing, Mina headed towards Blanc's quarters, personally delivering the message.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Acting like nothing had happened wasn't too difficult for her. Uni had always been good at hiding her feelings. Not as extreme and often unintentional as her sister, but she could give the pretense of not being bothered at all that Nepgear had escaped. Spending the last day ignoring the elephant in the room with all her might, Uni was finally forced to confront the fact that Nepgear had escaped the moment a chance presented itself.

Eating dinner by herself, before the war it had sometimes been the only time of the day she managed to get her sister away from work, Uni still fought back her tears. It wasn't that she was sad because Nepgear had escaped but because she could have prevented it if only she had let her go. Nepgear would still be gone but at least the circumstances would've been different.

And she wasn't in the position to make any more dangerous deals. Randomly poking in her salad with a fork, Uni had no appetite. She wondered when and how she would see Nepgear again. Hopefully it wasn't on the battlefield or her execution. Bored with herself, Uni got up and called for 5pb to be brought to her. Kei's subordinates had already reported that the oracle was down for the count after talking to Lowee's oracle so she wouldn't be making an appearance, no matter what. When Kei slept, she **really** slept.

Ten minutes later, Lyrica made her entrance, wearing a beautiful blue dress that reached to her ankles. "You wanted to see me?" She had been anxiously waiting for Mages to make contact. Having a day to think things over, Lyrica thought about her sister, Lyeka, and about how the hymmnos were passed on to her.

"Eat with me." Uni wondered what the girl had been up to. Thanks to her unique ability of being able to inaugurate a candidate, Uni wasn't willing to let her roam free and possibly get captured by Planeptune or Lowee. The last thing she needed were even more goddess among the enemy states.

Sharing her dinner, Uni wondered if there were other things the girl could do. "Can you use a hymn to track down a candidate? It's not that I'm in a hurry to find someone, I was just wondering." She never truly got over the habit of behaving like her sister when she was bothered.

"It might be possible for someone more skilled than me. But I can't do that." Mages had not said anything about keeping her gifts a secret but Lyrica was cautious. Who knew how much longer she would end up being a prisoner if she revealed that she was learning other hymns?

"That's too bad." Uni was disappointed and cut her schnitzel, eating a piece of it. Talking about the state of the war, Lyrica's imprisonment and how she was doing, Uni was still depressed by Nepgear being gone. With dinner finished, the newly inaugurated goddess walked out on the balcony. She didn't like alcohol much but sometimes it helped forget certain things. Her sister wasn't pleased when she consumed some, always telling her she was too young.

Standing outside, Lyrica excused herself eventually, leaving Uni to herself. The black haired goddess was leaned on the guard rail, staring west into the evening red. Where was Noire when she really needed her? If only she could have gone with Nepgear. She would have left without a second thought.

Sighing heavily, Uni wondered what she should do now. Not about governing her nation or the war but about Nepgear. She wasn't going to give up on her, she would never do that, but she lacked any kind of coherent plan to get her back.

Feeling the wine get to her a little, Uni went inside to refill her glass. She had seen Noire get drunk a few times in the last century, all of them occasions when Neptune had done something incredibly stupid and for some reason or another, things were left to Noire to fix them.

Thinking about it, Neptune had always been a bit clingy with her sister. Only in her human form though. As Purple Heart, she was all business and hard decisions. Drinking another glass, Uni felt a bit woozy. "I finally got to be a goddess and she still doesn't fall for me..." Sighing yet another time, Uni grabbed the whole bottle and returned to the balcony. The war and everything was getting to her. Putting the bottle on the ground next to her, she rested her head against the cold stone of the guard rail.

"Maybe I didn't let her go, so what... it's not like she'll be able to take over Planeptune anyway..." Feeling more and more depressed, Uni took a step back, putting the glass on the guard rail and transformed. Lifting up her breasts with her hands, Uni started to pout. "I even get taller and bustier now when I transform! No more shrinking! But it's still not good enough?"

Sitting down, next to the half empty bottle, Uni yawned loudly. She was drunk and she didn't care. At least she was able to say exactly what she was thinking this way. Not like there was anything to listen to, though, since Nepgear had to run away!

Fishing for the glass above her head, Uni refilled it again. "Stupid war... ruining everything..." If not for the damn situation everyone was in, she could have spend a quality evening with Nepgear instead of drinking away her anger.

In a different part of the castle, Lyrica was making sure that nobody was around. Locked inside her chambers, she had sung nonsensical stuff over a dozen times during the day. That way, the guards wouldn't be suspicious of they heard her singing something.

Preparing herself, Lyrica took a deep breath and opened her mouth. She felt _something_ snap in place when she finally used the hymn. Like a connection to some kind of power source, making a lot of energy flow through her.

_kiafa hynne mea? pagle tes yor._

_Can you hear my voice? The voice that is calling out to you_. It took a few seconds before she received her answer.

_Fou paks ga kiafa hynne yor._

_Yes, I can hear your _voice. The response was much more powerful than her question. It almost overwhelmed Lyrica, forcing her to close her eyes and focus completely on the hymn, disregarding everything else.

It was a test for her. To see if she could handle hymns that were passed to her not through training but through the Metasphere, passed on by Lyeka, her sister.

_kiafa sarla pagle tes yor._

_Can you hear my song_? A question, a plain one. Lyrica's voice echoed faintly through her room, a silent melody accompanying her. This time it took a lot longer for the answer to arrive.

_Mea paul yor._

_I understand you._ Mages voice was much more clear than her own, almost booming within her head. Trying to adjust how loud she received the message, Lyrica was having trouble with answering and doing that both at once.

Pausing for a moment, Lyrica was feeling rushed by the power flowing through her. It was different from when she had sung _LINKER_ to inaugurate Uni. There wasn't just the power flowing out of her, changing what the hymn was targeting.

_Sonwe hynne yor _

_I could hear your song._ The connection broke after that. Mages must have been satisfied with Lyrica for the time being.

Sinking to her knees, Lyrica felt stunned at how much power was actually channeled through her for a hymn that was just about communicating. She couldn't imagine what some of the supposedly powerful ones that Lyeka talked about would do to her.

Going to bed, exhausted, Lyrica was secretly looking forward to meeting Mages again. The more she learned, the more she immersed herself in her unique abilities, the more she looked forward to expanding her knowledge of it even more, to sing even more.

Too excited to fall asleep for a good thirty minutes, Lyrica wondered if she could get her sister to be a bit more gentle when passing on the hymns. If she wasn't so rough about it, maybe she could actually enjoy it.

When she finally managed to fall asleep, she found herself in her room, the mirror at the wall, showing Mages and a chain on the ground, respectively representing _SPHILIA_ and _CLOSSPHERE_. It took a good minute before Mages appeared, slowly walking down the stairs. "Sis." The word came out unintentionally

"You did well, communicating with _SPHILIA_, Lyrica." Touching her cheek in passing, Mages clicked with her fingers and the room changed. Her own core was much more comfortable after all. "Today will be tiring. Sit, please."

Taking the chair Mages left free, Lyrica sat down, across the table, her sister intensely looking at her. "Are the other hymns more intense than _SPHILIA_?"

"In some ways, yes. There exist hymns capable of destruction unseen ever before, but also some that can be used to grant new life. They have as many uses as there are feelings. But tonight, we are short on time. I will be teaching you a hymn that is extremely complex and one you will need to know. It will deepen your understanding of the world and our powers."

Raising her right hand and opening her palm towards the bed that stood in a corner, a resting place that would put even a goddess personal bed to shame. "This was one of the first three hymmnos that were ever created. To fully understand what and who we are, you will need to know all three." Standing up, Mages nodded to her sister. "The first you know. _LINKER_, the power that connects a candidate to the sharicite, making them a goddess. This room is _LINKER_, the hymn all Lyrateils know by birth." It was necessary to educate Lyrica this way. She had limited time and the girl needed to know who she was.

"The bed embodies _EXEC SUSPEND_." She would eventually have to explain what the difference between _EXEC_ and _METHOD_ types was, but not today. It was indispensable to teach Lyrica about the true nature of hymmnos first. "I know of no instance when this hymn has been put to use but it comes with a great deal of insight into the finer workings of what we do." Mages took off her head and jacket, leaving them on the chair. Her staff was resting against it as well. Her body was almost the exact same as Lyrica's, to the point where she might have been mistaken for her twin by some.

Sitting down on the bed in a lady like manner, Mages waved over her sister. "Come. This hymn is too powerful to be given with a mere kiss. The tradition was for a mother to teach their daughter or daughters when they reached the age of sixteen." Incestuous relationships had been normal due to how unique society was in their small village. "I will teach you _SUSPEND_ but it will require a great deal of physical closeness. Do not worry, we will not be sleeping with each other." Not **that** night.

Swallowing hard, Lyrica joined her sister on the bed, sitting in front of her, incredibly nervous, expecting some kind of lewd activity. But Mages did nothing of the sort. Taking Lyrica's hand and putting it right above her heart, the former Leanbox idol still blushed but the moment she could feel the calm heartbeat of her sister, her own heart synchronized. Seconds passed and became minutes, both of them unmoving, Lyeka sitting there with her eyes closed. Exhaling extremely slowly and thoroughly, the clothes she had been wearing vanished entirely, Lyrica's hand resting on her bare breasts.

Looking at her for a while, Mages said nothing. Eventually, the idol returned the act by simply thinking it, her clothes vanishing, Mages hand resting on her breasts. The continued calmness of her sister stopped her from feeling embarrassed. She moved so very slow that Lyrica had enough time to get used to everything.

Taking her hand away, Mages locked both her hands with those of her sister, getting a little closer. Waiting until Lyrica was back to being completely calm, Lyeka talked to her in a whisper. "The synchronization of our soulspaces is finished. I'm going to start teaching you the hymn now."

Letting her left hand go, Mages took Lyrica's right hand with both of her own, raising it to her mouth, kissing her fingertips, one at a time, then the back of her hand. Looking up, Lyeka felt the first fragments seep into the soul of her sister. The first part of the bed's framework, so to speak.

Repeating the process with Lyrica's left hand, she paused. "This marks the first part complete." Knowledge was streaming into the idol. That the hymns were powered by the sharicite that existed. That they had the power to access any sharicite with beyond root access but unable to perform its programmed functions. They communicated uniquely with the crystal, with their words and voices.

Putting her hands against Lyrica's shoulders, Mages pushed the girl on her back, kneeling next to her. "How do you feel?"

"Hot, calm and excited at the same time. It's weird but... not weird at all." She couldn't quite make sense of it. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced and at the same time felt like something she had known for all her life.

"The physical contact with become more intense now. If you feel overwhelmed, talk, but do not flee from me. It is essential you do this." A gentle smile accompanying her words, Mages waited until Lyrica carefully nodded.

Bending down, she kissed her sister's neck, her long blue hair tickling her skin, dancing over her collarbones. A series of only barely touching lips to skin, a dozen connections, Lyeka slid her hands over her sister's naked shoulders, over her arms, touching her hands briefly. The second part was starting.

Returning to her starting position, Mages placed a single, long and loving, kiss between Lyrica's collarbones, her tongue leaving the tiniest drop of saliva imaginable behind before she returned to her starting position again. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine." She would have been embarrassed to hell, laying naked in front of someone else, in the real world. But in here, where there existed only her sister and she, it was different. The knowledge that was flowing into her, the words that made up the hymn, it was coming with a warm, gentle sensation, like taking a warming bath. She was enjoying it instead of shying away.

Bending down again, Mages lips returned to Lyrica's neck, covering the other side in the same pattern as before. Her hands sliding along the younger girl's sides, up and down, slowly letting the girl grow accustomed to her touch. Returning to her starting position a final time, she bend down for a fourth time, a single kiss place on Lyrica's lips, too brief to let her respond. It was the seal that marked the second part complete. More knowledge streamed into her.

That the sharicite was a server that processed the faith of the people, gauging their piety, converting it all into energy, distributing it. A sharicite was nothing but the most advanced computer on the planet, capable of gathering thoughts that referred to those that were linked to it in a special way, the goddesses.

"The next part will be the most intense. I cannot stop here, but I need to ask you despite. Are you fine with our bodies touching?" She couldn't make any mistakes during this. _SUSPEND_ could send both her and Lyrica into an eternal state of sleeping, likely nobody in the world that knew the hymn to wake them.

"If you're as gentle as this, I'll... be fine." **Now** she was getting a little embarrassed.

Nodding, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, Mages prepared herself, reciting the third part of the hymn in her mind. Laying down next to her sister, she waited for a moment. "Turn your back to me."

Doing as she was told, anticipating what would happen next, the gentle feeling was gaining in strength, growing a trace of passion. She had never slept with anyone before this, so it was completely new to her. But she barely had time to think about anything that was happening to her. The hymn was flooding her mind, occupying all the mental capacity she had.

Wrapping her arms around her sister's waist, Mages exhaled slowly, slowly getting closer, pushing herself against Lyrica's back, her soft breasts slightly pressed by how close she was. Kissing her shoulder, kissing her neck, Mages nibbled on Lyrica's ear, lovingly, gently, tenderly. Her embrace fading, her hands moving upwards, running her fingertips over her sister's breasts, dancing around her nipples, they slowly stiffened.

The last part of the hymn was flooding inside of her. Her vision was fading, even though she was fully conscious and awake. The gentle touches remained felt, the loving care kept reaching her despite. Finally, Mages let go and sat up, only to bend down, holding back her own hair with one hand, touching Lyrica's cheek with another. The very final line of the hymn about to enter Lyrica.

The peak of the ceremony was a single tender kiss, lingering for seemingly forever between the two blue haired sisters. With the feeling of something settling into place inside of her, Lyrica understood what Lyrateils truly were. Like goddesses, candidates and oracles, they lived with the sharicite. But not the powerful ones that governed the land but minuscule ones, embedded into their very bodies, melted together with their hearts.

It allowed them to connect with the large sharicite, sap power from it, process it and use it to alter the world. Due to their unique physiology, they became able to process vast amounts of energy, much more than a goddess used in even their most grand attacks. But there were still many questions that remained unanswered.

Breaking out in sweat and panting, Mages got down from the bed, getting dressed with some clothes from a closet. She was completely exhausted. "Tell me the final line of _SUSPEND_." She needed to know she had succeeded. Large parts of _SUSPEND_ were in the modern language and not hymmnos, due to the delicate, ever evolving nature of society and the sharicite that was connected to it.

"Eternally.." Lyrica answered in a trance. Suddenly feeling very embarrassed, she realized just how close she had gotten with her sister. It had all felt very good and she hadn't been embarrassed at all before, but now that her mind was clearing up, she was feeling a bit horny.

"I'm sorry we have to part right after I taught you but I exhausted my energy teaching you the hymn. Dwell on the knowledge you have gained." Vanishing on the spot, Lyrica woke up in her bed, sweaty and panting. She was feeling ten times as horny now as she did inside her dream. But she was very grateful for what Lyeka had taught her.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Just short of midnight, Cave and Nisa arrived at the Leanbox border, after hijacking a small private boat to cross the ocean. But what had greeted them was far out of their imagination. Shot at without explanation, both of them had been wounded but managed to escape.

"What is going on?!" Shouting, Cave was running along side Nisa, a whole squad of Leanbox soldiers after her. Escaping on the boat was suicide. They'd be a sitting duck on the water. That only left them the option to flee further inland. And it was crawling with soldiers everywhere. Cave didn't want to use friendly fire to kill them. Some of them had taken special operations classes under her or even with her.

"Aren't they **your** people?!" Nisa was wondering why the heck she had gotten into this mess. Escaping from Tekken had been arduous, pushing them to their limit. Making it all the way to the north where their boat supposedly was, they found only burning ruins. Having to go over land, it had been a very stressful game of cat and mouse.

"Forest!" Taking a sharp turn, Cave felt a bullet pierce her lower left arm, going through and through. They weren't fooling around. The rounds they were using were made to break through heavily armored infantry and low grade energy shields. One shot of those to the head or the chest and it was game over.

Seeing that Cave got hit, Nisa made a decision. "I guess I can cheat just this once!" Jumping slightly into the air, turning around in mid-air, putting her hands together, making a single fist, and raising them above her head. "Nisa Justice Destroy!" With the impact of a minor local earthquake, Nisa destroyed the plain they had been running over, shaking the ground and forcing parts of it to fall into a chasm, parts of it to rise up from the tremor.

Cave hadn't stopped. She knew that Nisa was capable of shaking a few pursuers on her own. Within twenty seconds, the blue haired girl was catching up to her, their silhouettes mixing in with the countless trees. The forest was only about 150 years old, planted on the orders of Vert to counter the deforestation that was going on. Trying to lose their pursuers, Cave was having trouble ignoring the pain, causing her to get slower.

Nisa took the initiative, grabbed Cave, throwing the redhead over her shoulder, one hand securing her, the other still wildly flailing while she was running for her life. Hero of Justice or not, taking those bullets would kill her without a doubt.

"Treetops, go." Instructing Nisa, Cave ripped part from her skirt, the half that remained and wrapped it around her right arm, using her teeth to pull on one end and her uninjured arm to pull on the other. Taking a few brief deep breaths, Cave pulled with everything she could, to create enough pressure to stop the through and through hole from bleeding her out. The pain was so strong that she couldn't even see anything beyond the red curtains that was suddenly covering her eyes. Screaming out in pain for a moment, the redhead fainted. Nisa sped up the moment she felt Cave weaken, becoming a bit more of a burden.

Hitting a wall of mist, Nisa just kept on running, stumbling over a thick branch, almost crashing into a huge tree, branches and twigs scratching her arms, face and legs. She would get Cave out of this alive, she swore to herself.

Running and running, Nisa's heart almost exploded in fear when she suddenly had no more ground under her feet, falling. Thankfully, the fall was brief, but it was so dark she couldn't see anything. A creaking noise was briefly heard and someone covered Nisa's mouth. "Quiet."

Listening, a stampede was getting closer, dozens of rapid steps approaching and suddenly passing right over them. Chatter could be heard, someone still covering Nisa's mouth. Just by the breathing sounds, the blue haired hero was able to tell there were three people, two right behind her and another right in front.

The stomping passing and dispersing, the person in front lit a match. The person in front was a girl and not the one that was still covering her mouth. Whispering, she introduced herself. "Marvelous, Marvel for short and my friends call me Marvey, Gamindustri Anti-war Measures Expedition, leader." Short, shoulder length orange hair, red eyes with a peculiar symbol embedded into her iris, a black coat over a skimpy white outfit, barely concealing her very large breasts, Nisa couldn't see the rest of her. "CC, let her be."

The hand was removing from Nisa. Another match went on, behind her. The light was now enough to see that she was below a trap-door that had been barred. The room was part of a larger cave, the ends of which she couldn't see. Turning around she saw two more girls. "Cyber Connect. Part of GAME. Just call me CC." A girl with even shorter hair than Marvel introduced herself. Her hair was green, spiky, wild. Her breasts were significantly smaller and Nisa could spot a few white tattoos on her slightly dark skinned body.

The third girl was much shorter than the other two but almost as busty as Marvel. "Red, also belonging to GAME." Her hair was tied into a one-sided bow at the left of her head and her clothing was very unique, black, red and golden, most of it hidden beneath the same black cloak CC and Marvel wore.

"She needs help." Nisa didn't care about introducing herself or who they were and what they did. Letting Cave down, she put her on the floor. "A bullet went through her arm."

"CC, get her to the sleep room. You're staying with us. And you haven't told us your name yet." Marvel grabbed the blue haired girl by her arm. "CC is, despite her looks, quite good at patching people up." _Because she gets hurt all the time herself out on adventures_, Marvel thought to herself. Red followed after CC almost immediately, slapping the green haired girl's butt as she walked past.

"I'm Nisa. She is Cave." She didn't know how far she could trust those girls. What exactly was an anti-war measures expedition doing, anyway?

"Why is half the Leanbox border guard chasing you?" Marvel would restrain her if necessary. But in general, an enemy of the army was a friend of GAME.

"We don't know. They opened fire as soon as Cave identified herself and we ran. They would have killed us." Nisa had gone through some really bad things as of late and trusting random people wasn't very high on her to do list right now. Telling them that Cave was a top level operative of Leanbox and she was her lover was even further down the list.

"We'll patch her up. Things have been crazy in Leanbox for a while. First monsters pop up everywhere, then the oracle gets kidnapped and Green Heart comes back but looks and acts differently. The state is a mess right now." Babbling on about the state of things, Marvel didn't distrust Nisa for the time being. "So... want to join up with us? We're putting together a resistance army so we can stop this stupid war. Its just hurting people because the goddesses are too stubborn to make peace with each other."

Nisa, after being with Cave for several days, saw all kinds of problems with that scenario, the lack of a goddess on their side being the most prominent one. "Can we stay for a while? I'm not eager to be shot at."

"CC Is gonna patch up your partner. After that, we'll talk. We could use two strong people with us. You are strong, right? That's why they're chasing you with so many people."

Nisa was a little annoyed by the enthusiasm of the girl. That and her almost completely exposed, large bouncing breasts. She didn't mind Cave's, since she got to fondle them, but this girl slightly annoyed her.

"We're not bad." She didn't like lying at all, but the situation was calling for it. Cave had taught her that bending the truth a little could be very beneficial in the long run. For the time being, she had to play by Cave's rules instead of her own. She was staying with the redhead out of her own accord after all, so she wouldn't just give up on her the moment things got a bit dangerous. "But what are you doing in a cave in Leanbox territory?"

"There is a series of connected tunnels that span through all of Gamindustri. They are even a few that go from here to the main land, below the ocean. It's really cold, wet and dark down there, though." Marvel had great hearing and put a finger to her lips when she noticed soldiers up above coming closer. Getting up, her height forcing her to crouch a little, she waved Nisa to follow her.

Reaching a different room, several barrels and crates filled the room, a dozen hammocks spanned between them. A single large wooden table was nearby, too, several metal bowls and tankards on it. "We have over a dozen small bases all over Gamindustri." Marvel was explaining things to her like she was window shopping. "The ceiling's thick, so soldiers won't hear us unless we shout. So no shouting, okay?" Putting a finger to her lips again, the girl laughed quietly.

"Are you planning to launch a military offensive against one of the goddesses?"

"We don't know yet. We're still recruiting and haven't really decided on a proper course of action yet." Gasping for air when someone suddenly groped her from behind, Marvel's fist met with the head of the girl called Red. "I told you not to do that when I'm talking to a new member." Looking at Nisa, she smiled again. "You'll be new members, right?"

"I'll consider it." Nisa had no real intention of joining. Looking at Red, she was even more pissed off than before. The room was only dimly lit by primitive torches and lamps, but she could see her chest bounce with every step. Not that the girl actually made many **steps**. She resembled an overly hyped rubber ball, bouncing around, more than anything else. It was so unfair that a girl that short could have breasts that big.

"Marvel, we should totally recruit the redhead. She's **really** nice." Red was saying it in such a way that there was no doubt what she was talking about.

"Keep your hands off her." Starting to be really irritated, Nisa glared at Red. "Do you go after everything with breasts?" Being with Cave for so long, who took great care to never tickle her complex about having no breasts to speak of, Nisa had gotten even more sensitive to when people triggered it.

"If they're good looking, sure! I want all of GAME to be my harem!"

Nisa had no answer to that and turned away before she exploded, heading through the room, hearing Marvel scold the girl shortly before squeaking again, most likely from being groped. Finding Cave two rooms further in, Nisa noticed a constant downward slope. The tunnels were leading down. "How is she?"

"I stopped the bleeding and closed the wound but it will take a long time for this to fully heal. It would go faster if we had any kind of healing elixirs or tinctures." The girl called Cyber, or CC, was kneeling next to the unconscious operative. "The bullet went cleanly through and through, so at least there isn't much risk of infection."

"Thanks for helping." After being in the war herself, Nisa was very happy to see that there were still people trying to stop it. But she wondered how much they could really do. The nations had immensely powerful weapons, the goddesses and large armies. It would be a rough road.

"We help those that get hurt by the war. Optimally, we'd like to stop the war entirely but that's not so easy." CC was rather realistic about their purpose and chances. She still believed in the cause, though, and was giving her best to help the others. "Marvel already asked you to join us, right? Giving it any consideration?"

She didn't have any intention of joining, not just yet. They were doing something that very much sounded like something a hero of justice **should** be doing, but Cave had showed her pretty well how those things ended. And Cave surely wouldn't want to rebel against Leanbox and the other states.

"I'll think about it." And this time, she really meant it. "But more importantly, you said it would help if you had any elixirs? Where would we even get something like that?"

"Atelier would be the most likely choice. Are you planning on going?" Taking a quick look at Cave, CC got a clue. "I see. She's really important to you, isn't she?"

Ignoring the later comment, Nisa was focused on helping Cave for now. "How do I get there?"

"I was planning to enlist some of Atelier's merchants into GAME, so I'm going with you." Marvel had come to join them as well. "It'll be a long trip. One day, maybe two if we have to rest a lot or get lost."

"Just go. I'll stay with her. Red, you're staying with me, too." CC leered past Marvel at the redhead that was sneaking up to their orange haired leader.

"Keep an eye on things, Red." Marvel put up with the short girls behavior because she was a decent fighter and had a surprisingly high amount of female contacts all over the world.

"Anything you want!" Trying to please the girl she wanted to be her harem member number one, Red happily nodded.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Chika woke with a raging headache and she was soaked to the bone. Rain was hammering down on her, wet grass and mud beneath. Pushing herself up, it was nearly pitch black. Having to stand in the rain for a while, until her eyes got used to the darkness, the oracle searched for wounds. But surprisingly, she didn't have any. Even the scratches she had suffered during the fight were gone.

How had she gotten here? It wasn't even evening yet when she had been attacked. But based on how dark it was, night had clearly come. Had she been disposed of? But that didn't explain the lack of injuries. Going down on her knees when a particularly strong wave of pain rolled through her head, Chika wondered why Lastation would send a robot after her.

Lastation? How did she know it belonged to them? Trying to think about it, she remembered. _Lady Uni wants you gone_. The robot had said that. Because of that, it was clear that it was indeed Lastation that had ordered the attack. But to what purpose?

Trying to get her bearings, Chika was stumped for a moment when she saw an incredibly massive building in the distance. It wasn't just any building. The big landmark, the pride of Leanbox, the Huge Box structure. She couldn't be more than maybe ten kilometers from the capital city at this rate. Starting to walk towards the city, Chika's headache got even worse.

It took her over an hour to finally reach the outskirts of the capital, where her powers were starting to return. Using them to catapult herself from building to building with her corporeal tentacles, Chika caught a glimpse of a large clock. It was just past 3 AM.

Finally reaching the tower, the soldiers seemed shocked to see her. "Close your stupid mouths and open the door!" She wasn't in the mood for any games.

Letting her in, Chika had to deal with even more gawking soldiers, all of them in awe of her just walking back into the tower as if nothing had happened. "Do I have a big sign on my back that says _please ogle me_ or something?" Her mood was getting more sour with every passing second.

Taking the elevator up, nobody dared to stop her. She was soaked and in a horrible mood, enough to make the soldiers mind their words. Reaching the top level, Chika returned to her room as the first course of action. There were repairs going on even in the dead of the night but thankfully her room was mostly fine.

Slamming the door shut behind her, Chika stripped naked, grabbing a towel from her closet and rubbing herself dry. She would take a hot bath before she went to sleep and before she could do **that**, she had to check in with the chief of staff. Sighing, standing still and holding her towel, Chika wished that Lady Vert was back, so she could take care of those things.

Her wish came true in a very different way. Two long arms wrapped themselves around her waist, big breasts pushing against her naked back. "Welcome back, Chika." Whispering in the oracle's ear, Vert had entered the room silently, hugging the girl.

Flinging around, forcing the arms off her, looking at the visitor with her mouth wide open, she laid eyes on Green Heart, wearing a black divinity suit. "Am I... dreaming?" Her heart was beating so fast, she felt it was gonna explode any second now.

"I doubt it." Smiling in a seductive way, Green Heart stepped closer to the naked Chika, holding out her arms, asking for a hug. "Did you miss me?"

"Where have you **been** all this time? Do you know how worried I was when I heard you got captured by Planeptune?" She was so overjoyed to see Vert again that Chika completely disregarded the fact that she was naked, jumping straight into Vert's embrace.

"It's all in the past now." Chika had no need to know what had happened. Petting the girl's head, Vert's lascivious smile revealed most of her intention. "Chika." Raising the oracle's head, Vert kept her smile, looking right into her eyes. "While I was gone, I realize how much you mean to me. I don't want to regret keeping my feelings bottled up."

For Chika, it was like a dream come true. But there was something odd about Vert. "Why did your divinity suit change? Not that I dislike this new look, it's really sexy." Licking her lips, she had trouble keeping a clear head with the way Vert looked at her. But that too, was a bit odd. Vert was bold with her affection, very much so, but this still felt off to her.

"Even I don't know. The sharicite couldn't find anything odd either. I think they **tried** to do something to me and failed." Keeping Chika close, Vert moved her hand through the oracle's long, green hair. "You're all wet... what happened?"

Chika's eyes closely followed Vert's lips and she needed a little nudge to stop spacing out. "W-what? Oh, me. I was attacked and abducted, I suppose. I woke up a few kilometers outside the capital." She was slightly mesmerized by Vert's change in attitude. It wasn't that unusual for someone to change after going through life threatening situations, so she decided to pay not too much attention to it.

"Did you get a tattoo while I was gone? Or did someone draw on your face?" Getting awfully close to Chika's cheek, Vert looked at a small four letter word that looked like it was imprinted on her cheek. "_EXEC_?" Gently rubbing over the oracle's cheek, the letters came off, like they were paint. "Someone **did** draw on your face." Vert grinned.

"Lady Vert, you... you said you realized how much I mean to you... what exactly..." Her sass had slightly evaporated before the prospect of Vert confessing her love to her.

Proving her intentions, Vert laid siege to Chika's lips, her fire burning through more than just her mouth, raging throughout her entire body. Shaking a little at the sudden event, Chika threw herself completely into the sensation, responding, forcing the kiss to go on and on, not letting go of her beloved Vert. Heat rising through her cheeks to her head, Vert pulled away first, a greedy Chika desperately trying to continue their shared pleasure.

"This is how I feel about you." Noticing the glassy look in Chika's eyes, Vert wondered if she had gone too far too quickly. But for now, she wanted to push her over the edge anyway. Picking up the naked girl, Vert carried Chika to the oracle's private bathroom.

Chika had gone to paradise, she was sure. Maybe the attack had actually killed her and this was _her_ heaven, with an affectionate Vert waiting for her. Resting in the goddess' arms, Chika was let down into her large tub, shaped like a bowl, big enough to fit four people inside with ease.

Opening all four faucets, Vert climbed into the tub as well, Chika resting on one of four large stone seats that were placed inside. Sitting down on the pale-green haired girl's lap, the goddess kissed her again, their kiss lingering for the duration of the tub, which was more of a miniature pool, filling itself with hot water.

"Lady Vert, I-" Chika couldn't talk because her love put a single finger over her lips.

"Vert is fine. I don't care about formalities between us. You can call me whatever you want, wherever you want." A state was ruled through power and making her relationship with Chika public simply spoke for her confidence in herself.

"Can I touch you?" Chika swallowed hard, eying the large bosom of her other half. She wanted to grope, fondle, squeeze them, suck on them and tease her nipples.

Responding with action instead of words, Vert bend forward, pushing her breasts against Chika's. The water had risen to the point of just reaching their chest and was rising rapidly. The girl with deep purple eyes knew that her oracle wasn't trembling from the hot water. Softly rubbing their bodies together, Vert kissed Chika's nose, their eyes only centimeters from each other.

Pinching herself, Chika had to make absolutely sure she wouldn't just wake up in the middle of this. Wincing from pinching too hard, Chika was quickly relieved of the pain. Vert's breasts kept rubbing against her own and a naughty chuckle signified that her goddess had noticed how incredibly stiff her nipples had gotten. Poking against Vert's soft skin, Chika couldn't help but push harder against her goddess.

The faucets closed by themselves as soon as the water reached their shoulders. Creating tines waves on the surface, Chika put her arms around Vert's shoulders, sticking her tongue out, her face pained from not having kissed her in over a minute.

"I didn't know you were such a lewd girl, Chika." Vert teased her, tracing her fingers over the girl's lips. Letting her lick them, she backed up a little, only to grab Chika's breasts, playing with them, making them bounce a bit while fondling.

"Vert... Vert..." She couldn't think straight. Being touched like this by the girl she had been in love with for more than two centuries was simply too much for her. Returning the favor, grabbing Vert's breasts, Chika felt like she was handling two massive marshmallows, her fingers almost sinking into them.

A new kiss starting between the two, Chika wished that the moment would never end, that the rest of her life was being with Vert like this. But the more she got involved, the more she lost herself to the heat, the more she could hear a faint voice in the back of her head.

Lasting for just about a minute before breaking away and backing off a little, Vert ran the palm of her right hand over the oracle's chest, right down the middle, passing her stomach, bending forward and kissing her again while at the same time moving her hand between Chika's legs. "What a lewd body you have... getting so excited when we haven't really started yet."

Sliding first one, then a second, finger into Chika, the pale green haired girl came too early, her body unable to contain all the excitement she was feeling. "I'm... sorry.. I just..." Panting, Chika couldn't even make excuses. She was so embarrassed.

Vert simply looked at her in amusement, slowly pulling her fingers out and licking them, like they were still dripping with Chika's honey. "What a pity the water washes it all away. I'm sure its delicious."

At this point, the face of the oracle was a mixture of excitement, embarrassment and pure lust. Taking Chika's right hand, she licked the fingers of the oracle for a little while. "Don't you want to return the favor?"

Trembling at the idea of making Vert orgasm with her fingers, Chika's heart was beating so hard that her chest hurt on the inside. Nervous to the max, she took Vert up on her offer, reaching between her legs. A deep moan escaping the goddess when her lower lips were being toyed with, she pressed herself against Chika, their breasts slightly flattened by the pressure. "Hurry... I can't wait." Her voice was a hot whisper.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"What are you planning?" Staring at a display that was showing nothing but a silhouette and static, Rei was very much annoyed. "You knew that I am using Leanbox to stall the war so why did you release her?" She didn't need to tell him, or her, to what purpose.

Rei had learned that someone had bought Leanbox's oracle at the slave auction and then shortly afterward released her. Those three idiots. She would give them a good beating later. The buyers identity was still a mystery but at least she managed to contact him.

"You're not the only one with plans, dear. I need the oracle in Leanbox but **don't worry**." Chuckling, the voice got a bit deeper. "The oracle won't notice the difference between **your** Vert and the dead one." There was a slight pause. "Oh, no reaction?"

It wasn't **her** Vert. She didn't know what exactly happened but the memory implant had not been as complete as it should have been. Judging by her reports, Vert had no recollection of the past few days, resulting in the chaotic situation. Changing plans with Capcom, she had to pay her a lot more to get Vert out of there. Things got even worse then. Instead of returning to Leanbox and the nation falling into chaos, she was now doing lots of unexpected things. Someone else was using her. Capcom refused to say anything and forcing her was not an option.

"What are you after?" Rei didn't want to run into another problem. Things were hazardous enough as they were.

"That's... a secret."

She was being toyed with and she didn't like that. "You know who I am and what I can do. I'm not unreasonable. Tell me what you want and we might just be able to cooperate."

"Cooperation, huh? I see no reason to cooperate but since you're so insistent, I'll tell you something good. The Blue Reaper isn't the only one capable of manipulating people. And most of all, the surface world isn't your playground, Cyan Heart." The connection was cut abruptly, leaving Rei in one of the many communication rooms by herself. Firing several energy spheres into the device, she completely destroyed it.

"Not my playground?" Her grin was ripe with anger. Whoever was messing with her plans would pay for doing so. If Leanbox continued with the war and wiped Planeptune off the map, everything would go to hell. Not many had the means and guts to mess with her plans. It was well known that she had wiped an entire continent off the map at some point and that put a lot of fear into the smaller people.

She needed to get that oracle out of there. But it would be a lot harder this time, with Green Heart around. She didn't like it, but it was time to call in favors. If she couldn't get them out or kill them, she could at least stop them from doing anything. By force, if necessary.

=== END OF LINE ===


	11. Decrypt: Scheme

**Overheat**

_Execute: 1111101001_

**Decrypt: Scheme**

The blood of tens of thousands stained the imperial palace of Tari. Corpses piled up so high that rivers of blood were flowing down the tower, tinting the sky itself red if viewed from a distance. Sick of poor leadership, the citizens had finally risen up against their goddess, their faith turned to hatred, their loyalty shriveled up.

Temptation had devoured her. The lust for more power and conquest had been overwhelming for her. Waging war on the other nations of the world had been her favorite pasttime for none of the other goddesses were a match for her, the chosen one, she who had the blessing from the Grimoire of the World. A dark whisper, telling her where the enemies defenses were thin, when they were unsuspecting, she let herself be guided down the path to world domination.

But power came with a price. Abandoning her people's needs, their cries for innovation, for love and attention, she had committed a grave sin, one that would become her downfall. It was incomprehensible to her. Why did these fools rise against her? They had no means to even hurt her!

Cyan Heart stepped over another corpse. She was head to toe covered in blood and gore. Parts of the palace had already been set on fire. "Grimoire! Where are you?"

_Right here_. The Grimoire never spoke to her face to face. It was always just a whisper inside her head, crude words that belittled the humans and the goddesses. **She** was the only one who could receive her voice. No others were permitted to do so. It was her prerogative.

"How am I to punish these blasphemers?!" She had long since stopped thinking about big decisions on her own. She let the Grimoire think **for** her now.

_If the vermin cannot appreciate their queen, it isn't enough to just kill them. You need to take away their everything. Their families, their home, their friends and memories, their very **land**. No one can be fit to rule them if you aren't! If you are to stop ruling, take everything with you!_

The Grimoire was poisoning her thoughts. No matter how vile, how extreme and unreasonable the command was, she would follow it. For the Grimoire had always led her to victory. Stepping closer to the source of her power, a crystal that did not collect the people's faith but snippets of their very life force, Cyan Heart placed her hand on top of it. "Access root. Increase life siphoning by 79%!" She would drain almost all of their life and show them what it meant to oppose their goddess. She wasn't just like any other. The Grimoire had told her she was the **one**. The next **True Goddess**. She was no mere tool to protect her nation like those other _goddesses_ that ruled Planeptune and the likes. She was a **real** goddess.

Feeling power of a magnitude she wouldn't be able to contain for long flowing into her, Rei Ryghts left the throne room and made her way to the balcony, where a large magic circle was carved into the ground. It was a sacrificial mechanism for the Grimoire.

Standing on top of it, she collected more and more energy, the very life force of her people, into herself, her power growing exponentially with each second. _Do it. Use the spell. You have the right to do it._

"One Thousand Nine-hundred and Eighty-Three sins!" Her voice reached even the furthest corners of the world, like a booming thunder. An insane glint in her eyes, Rei watched energy flow into the circle beneath her just before it rose high into the air, creating a magic circle that grew and grew, reaching into the atmosphere, dozens of kilometers wide and long. She kept absorbing and feeding energy to the spell. There was nothing to stop her now! She would rebuild Tari from the ground up, their fear of her wrath keeping them in check.

A sphere of innumerable layers started to surround her. The protection she needed to withstand being the center of what was about to happen. "End of an Era!" The activation phrase shouted, the magic circle remained silent for a second.

The following spectacle could be seen from all over the world. A beam of magic energy descending slowly from the upper layers of the atmosphere hit the large continent far to the west of Planeptune. In an instant, everything was obliterated. Capitals, cities, villages, mountains, rivers, the very foundation the land stood on, the continent, was burning away under the borderline infinite power and heat that was descending upon the world.

_You did it! You fool really did it! You will burn Celestia and the Graveyard along with the entire human world! What a sight! I can't believe you really unleashed the world's destruction with your own hands!_

Cyan Heart stood there, trembling. What was the Grimoire saying? Was she joking? She had done exactly as it had told her. It was leading her to victory. What did it mean, the _world's destruction_? It was her duty to rule this planet, as the rightful heir to the True Goddess!

_You are no rightful heir to anything but a failing nation. Within the century, you would die and no other goddess was born to replace you. So I decided to have a little fun with you. You are but a fool that was easily manipulated to my entertainment. This world and everything in it will be destroyed by what you have unleashed. Bathe in regret as you watch the world you longed so much to rule burns away in a blaze of glory! You were a **failure** as goddess, Cyan Heart._

Her brutal outcry of rage was not heard by anyone. Screaming until her voice could no longer produce any sound, she fell to her knees, the sphere keeping her afloat in the middle of the all-eradicating energy beam. How **dare** the Grimoire play her for a fool! Seething rage was flowing through her veins.

Slamming her fists into the magic sphere, Rei Ryghts had been betrayed and used all along. There was nothing left for her. And soon, when the magic protection wore off, she would be alone in a wasteland devoid of all life.

The entire continent of Tari had been destroyed already and the energy mass was slowly moving towards the massive continent to the east, where Planeptune and Lowee existed. She felt no regret or guilt, only anger.

In a single instant, the energy beam disappeared completely, the magic circle eradicated, as if it had never existed to begin with. Almost as if someone had simply cut out its very existence. Looking up, Rei Ryghts saw eye to eye with a being she could describe as otherworldly. Red eyes that stared at her without any emotion, black robes that fluttered slightly in the wind. "I hereby revoke your eligibility as a goddess for all ages to come. Not ever again shall you rule. Not ever again shall you call yourself a goddess."

"Who... are you?" She was afraid. For the first time in her entire life, Rei Ryghts was so scared that she could barely speak, let alone move.

A tiny girl, no bigger than possibly a meter, sitting on a book that was flipped open, its deep purple pages glistening in the sun. "Why are we not killing her? She's just a useless bum now." The girl's crude words and voice gave her away. She was the Grimoire.

"**You!**" Trying to raise up and grab the Grimoire, Rei felt a wave of fear go through her. It wasn't that she was weak. On the contrary, at that moment she might have been the most powerful mortal being that ever existed. But the keyword was **mortal**. The woman in front of her wasn't that. The atmosphere that surrounded her, her ability to simply remove the energy circle that had the power to destroy all life on the planet, and the way she looked at her. That was not how one mortal looked at another. It was far beyond the state of how Rei looked at her people. It was no different than a true god looking down on the world and seeing an ant.

The woman simply looked at the Grimoire for a moment. They did not share a mind, but they were of one body and soul. For she was the duty that remained in the world when the True Goddess split into three while the Grimoire was her desire.

"Fine, fine, I'll behave. I won't try to destroy the world again for a few dozen centuries or so. I had my fun." Looking at Rei, she was terribly amused. "She was so easy to push around. There can be no heir to the True Goddess. She and I and one more are the True Goddess' remains. As long as we exist, no _True Goddess_ will ever emerge again." Mocking Rei, the Grimoire vanished on the spot via teleportation. The woman vanished as well, a second later.

The sphere that kept her afloat disappearing, Rei fell over a hundred meters, crashing into the raging ocean. Her continent was gone. Her title was gone. And all she had been fed were lies. Rage unlike any other was dominating her mind. A thirst for revenge. She would not be satisfied by just destroying that woman and the Grimoire. She would have to humiliate them first and rule over the most powerful nation the world had ever known. Only then would her flaming rage be quenched. Only then could she move on.

"I'll do it..." Drifting in the ocean on her back, Rei reached out to the sky above. "I'll do it. I will destroy you. **I will destroy you! You hear me?! Grimoire! True Goddess! I shall kill you, even if it is the last thing I will ever do!**"

Waking with a scream, Rei was panting in horror. Every night, every time she slept, she relived that moment of ultimate betrayal, of ultimate humiliation and degradation. In the centuries that followed, she found out who the woman was. The duty of the True Goddess, Arfoire, the one who governed the goddess system and the Graveyard. Normal measures of _powerful_ did not apply to her. She was capable of reshaping the world itself, as she had seen 1600 years ago. But even that must have had its limits

Even now, over a dozen centuries later, she was still enraged over the betrayal. It was like a tumor inside her that could not be cut by anything but the humiliation and death of the True Goddess. It had taken centuries of learning, plotting, scheming and working her way up to finally be _this_close to executing her plan. Soon, Arfoire would have to eat her words and when she moved to correct things, she would kill her.

Looking to the prison cell, Rei showed a devious smile. In less than twenty-four hours, she could restart the shaping process. And this time, she wouldn't make any errors or let her escape. But there were problems. Someone was interfering in Leanbox. And there was something very fishy going on in Pyraba as well. It was no mere coincidence that there was interference in Leanbox all of a sudden. Someone was pulling the strings of whoever was interfering.

Getting up and looking into the cell, the tiny girl slowly turned her head, looking at her with total indifference. "You are deplorable, Cyan Heart. Wherever you go, your path is lined with death and suffering."

"It looks like most of your memories are back. Enjoy it while it lasts." Rei's voice was ripe with arrogance. Grinning wide, she hit the steel bars with her hand and walked away. Once her memories were wiped and the shaping process was completed, she could finally move on to the next stage of her plan.

But she needed time. Even if she pushed the limits, completing the shaping process in one week would be very difficult. Stalling the war on the surface was essential. Normally, the shaping process should have been complete by now. But lately, things just never went the way she wanted them to. All her plans were failing and she had to make emergency adjustments to them. And not just that. Someone was providing Leanbox with technology that she could not even find in Pyraba.

The advanced anti-crystal chokers, suppressing share power itself but not the divinity transformation. If she had one of those, she would have used Yellow Heart in a few more ways. No matter how rage-consumed she was, nobody was immune to sexual frustration. And Yellow Heart had an amazing body. Her human form, not so much.

Licking her fingers, she knew it was too risky to let her transform. No matter how strong she, Cyan Heart, was, Yellow Heart had the physical aptitude to overpower her. Especially if she tried to sleep with the blonde.

Giving up on it for now, she would have plenty of time to enjoy Yellow Heart's body once she went through with her plan. And she would eliminate everyone that stood in her way.

=== OVERHEAT ===

A night like any other, she was still very little, barely three years old, when they came and attacked the village, seeking test subjects for their experiments. Over a dozen children were taken, dozens of women killed. But the village survived. It was a year before the village would be wiped off the maps entirely.

Waking up in a dark cell with no furniture but a toilet, no light, no human contact and with a gag covering her mouth that was only removed briefly when it was time to eat. She was completely unable to sing. For a child from Tonelico, that was the greatest punishment they could imagine. Spending day and night in the cell, food and water passed to her through a small gap in the door, she thought she was going insane. Occasionally, she could hear the voice of another child crying. When she was let out of the cell for the first time, two weeks had passed and she had heard six other girls cry, passing in front of her door. The dim light was so blinding to her that she could barely see. But when she finally got used to it again, her mind shut down almost immediately. Mutilated remains of the girls she had played with a few weeks ago, torn apart from the inside by something, littered the experiment room. She was chained to a movable table and injected with something. Bursts of energy passed through her body, hurting her badly, but she lived. "We have a stable subject. What is her coding?"

Her memory was incredibly vivid about that part because something sharp cut into her back for a moment. "Unknown. There are high traces of her being a Pureblooded Gamma type, but I'm detecting over twenty percent of other readings, such as Origin and an entirely unknown factor."

"Prep her for experimentation and test the remaining girls. It won't hurt to have more than one living subject."

She couldn't follow what they were saying. The blood and gore had terrified her to the bone, leaving her unable to move or say anything. Within minutes, she was brought to a different room, filled with technology. A single armored person was sitting on front of a dozen screens, rapidly typing away. The person finally turned around after noticing the researchers. "My, what a cute thing. If she the first compatible subject?"

"Yes, sir."

"I told you to call me Ma'am! I'm a maiden at heart, you know!" Fidgeting around, the armor looked at the little girl with great interest. "Hook her up. It will take time to infuse her with the program."

She was stripped naked and forced into a cold metal chair, her arms and legs tied to it with leather straps, dozens of nodes attached to every part of her body. "Pity the program cannot access their soulspace after they're older than four. It pains me to have to put such little girls through so much."

With the press of a button, she was suddenly in pain, melodies and words rushing into her heard with such force and intensity that her eyes rolled back and she foamed a little on the mouth. She had no recollection of anything after that. When she woke up, she was covered in mud and it was raining down hard on her. She was outside! Running for it, she only looked back once, seeing a burning transport vehicle, flipped over.

It wasn't until she collapsed after running that she noticed that her hair had tremendously grown and she was much taller in general. At the time, she didn't care much about it or wonder how long she had been imprisoned. Making it to a town, she stole and begged to have something to eat and finally learned in what direction her village was.

It took her several weeks, going north for a long time, before she finally managed to get back. Dirty, starved and apathetic, she returned to her village. Her parents welcomed her back with open arms. Nobody noticed anything wrong with her beside unnatural fast physical growth.

Returning to her normal life had been hard. Her rapidly growing body was accompanied by an almost equally quickly developing mind. In four weeks she had grown as much as other children her age would have in a whole year. But the growth came not without consequences. She was often sick, unable to keep up with the necessary training and horribly depressed over losing all of her friends due to her unnatural state of being.

Months passed like that, with no sign of her captors showing up. After she had been home for four months, she looked like an eight year old girl now while her fourth birthday had yet still to come, the murders started. Every few days, one of the adults was found dead in their beds at home, no obvious cause of death. After the second one, a coroner was called but even she could not find anything.

No matter how hard they searched, locked their doors and kept their windows closed, the murders kept occurring. A month and seventeen dead later, she woke one morning, feeling very different. Looking into the mirror, she had grown a lot over night. Her breasts had started to grow. Physically and mentally, she was around fourteen now. Jumping several years in a single night, everyone was starting to be frightened and suspicious of her. A week later, another one was found dead.

Horrified to go to sleep, she buried herself in training day and night. No matter what training she tried, she was able to complete it without any problems whatsoever. All the adults were frightened of her when she mastered a the high-level hymmnos _CHRONICLE KEY_, one that was supposed to take years of practice to execute without flaw.

One week short of her fourth birthday, her parents sent her little sister of two years away, scared that she might turn out like their first child. She was shunned and despised in her village. She was more gifted, more powerful, more skilled than anyone the village had ever known. Capable of singing hymmnos that only those with decades of experience could use, she was seen as a monster.

And on the day of her birthday, she felt it too. She was a monster. Her body was that of an adult now. Standing high at 158 centimeters height, her blue hair reached all the way to her butt. She knew all but one hymn the village had ever created already.

But that was not the worst. Her parents were dead, showing no symptoms at all, just like all the others. That was when she connected the dots. Her father and mother had been the only ones to know the two versions of the one hymn she didn't know yet. And now they were dead. And she had a firm understanding of both versions.

Shaken by the realization that it was **her** who was killing everyone, she walked out of her house in a trance, taking her mother's clothing, her father's hat and staff with her, she headed to the central spot of the village. Something was drawing her towards it. Every time someone had died, she went through a growth spurt several days before. Her developed mind, her knowledge of the hymns. It wasn't her own. She was stealing from everyone around her.

Standing in the middle of the village, she still couldn't believe what was happening to her. Or **why** it was happening to her. Was it because of something they had done to her during the experiments? Didn't they say something about **infusing** her with a program? How could she have missed that all this time?

Spreading her arms, she started singing against her will. And there was a voice in her head. _If you can hear this, then my experiment is a great success! Congratulations, me! You're the best, me! And if you're hearing this, then you are also executing my first hand-made, crafted with love, hymn made by humans. To be specific, the minds of the researcher that worked on you! **Surprise**! Now, I would suggest you say your goodbyes, but I don't think anyone will care about you at this point. Bye, bye!_

At the same time as the message finished playing through her mind, she finished executing the hymn, _Xa Ziqt wac s._

With a shock wave that nearly knocked her off her feet, the world around her turned to flames and death, her hymn having released an enormous energy blast that had incinerated the entire village in a second. The earth was scorched so badly that she couldn't even step on it without burning through her shoes. Trees, buildings, animals, people, they were all burned to ashes, charred corpses only remaining for those who were protected from the main blast inside a building.

She couldn't even feel sad. She was physically incapable of pitying them or crying. Only shock and horror surged through her mind. Then in truth, she was no woman. She was a four year old girl that had just been forced to eradicate her own village.

While her body was that of an adult, she felt just like a little girl, standing amidst blaze and death. Alone and feeling despair that was ready to swallow her whole.

Raising her head, Mages looked at the mirror in her room. Fifteen years had passed and she had not aged a day since then. Her mind had developed and she had grown more powerful but had learned that she didn't require as much food, water or air was normal humans. Whatever they had done to her back then had completely changed her forever.

Spending several years in hiding, she had learned about the underground during a trip to Lastation. The following years, she had tried to find out who was responsible for the project. But all she knew was that they were in Pyraba. Over the years, she had developed a thirst for revenge. If the culprit was hiding in Pyraba, all she had to do was destroy Pyraba. But it wasn't that easy. The pain and suffering she had endured... she would pay it back tenfold. She was prepared to wait for centuries if necessary. As her body wasn't aging, she didn't think she would die unless she was slain by violence. But a chance had revealed itself sooner than she had thought.

Cyan Heart, Rei Ryghts, was planning something grand. Offering her services, she had wormed her way into the woman's plans. Eventually, surely, there would be an opportunity to use her to destroy Pyraba, to destroy the bastard that had taken away her childhood, that had taken away her family and friends and everyone she ever loved.

Even though she had regained her emotions eventually, she could never forget that moment where her world turned to ashes right in front of her and she couldn't cry or feel sad about it. Now that she had found her sister fifteen years later by mere coincidence, it had altered her plan greatly. Soon, she would approach Rei and make her an offer that the woman could not turn away.

And from there, it wouldn't be long until she could bring devastation to this cursed place, and finally get revenge. "You can't escape from me."

=== OVERHEAT ===

The very object of Mages' hatred was less than a kilometer away from her, in the deeper reaches of Pyraba, in his private laboratory. "Now, please keep your end of our contract, dear Croire."

"Sure, sure." A small girl, platinum blond hair, dark purple wings, black clothes and blue eyes, was sitting on a floating grimoire, waving her hand at the armored being. Holding out her right hand, a bit of blood red cloth wrapped around her wrist, a small, black notebook formed in her hand. "Here ya go. One pretty much useless one-time-use-only command sequence notepad. What are you gonna use that for anyway?"

"That's a secret."

"Gotta be something stupid like making someone go and try to kill Magic. You've been after her position for a century. How much longer are you gonna try?" Floating across the room, the Grimoire picked her nose, very nonchalant about it.

"What a crude girl you are, gosh. I will be queen after Magic is gone. I **want** that title! **Queen** of Pyraba!" Squirming around in the large chair, the armored one giggled a few times.

"I was stupid to ask." Shrugging, the Grimoire vanished on the spot, leaving only purple plumes behind.

"No patience, that sweetie." Talking to himself, something he liked to do, the armor returned to typing away, opening a direct video feed from the surface. He was only seeing skin, nothing else. "What is she looking at?" The video feed originated directly from a microscopic implant he had used to keep track of what the oracle was doing. Rei was doing **something** big and he wanted to know all about it. It could be a great chance to get rid of Magic and claim her title as Queen.

Going through earlier footage, he had no audio, it was showing the old Vert sleeping with her oracle. Nothing too important. Going back even further, he reached the beginning of the recording, where Chika returned to Leanbox. Nothing interesting there either. Closing the video feed, he leaned back. The assassination attempt was already the latest news in Pyraba. It wasn't surprising there were others after Magic as well. Baal was one of the few that had the manpower and influence to take her down by force.

For now, he should probably lay low. He had caught wind that the Blue Reaper was actually his experiment from fifteen years ago, a project that had been canceled due to its immense cost. It would probably be best if he didn't run into her. Not that he left his laboratory much anyway.

Magic's companion had started to catch his interest however. She was beautiful and clever, and a goddess to boot. Having a sharp mind was vital in Pyraba and she was demonstrating that wit of hers nicely. He wouldn't mind taking her as well when Magic was gone.

But the last two days, she hadn't been seen anywhere. That was to be expected, considering all of Pyraba was sweating under the tension of Magic's golden eyes. She knew of him, obviously, but not where he was or what he was planning. And he preferred to keep it that way. The Grimoire was unlikely to babble to Magic. The one time they met he knew of, they had been very hostile towards each other.

"I guess I'll go take a bath." Loading a virtual reality program into his suit, he started to relax.

In another part of the castle, the much talked about topic, Magic was watching another dance. She had found the culprit of the assassination attack. A noble called Robotic. He had been dealt with. But the castle was still in unrest. The traitor, Rei Ryghts, had cleverly eluded capture by not transgressing against any laws. She didn't know how she did it, as there was no doubt that she was behind all of it, but there was no proof whatsoever that she was involved at all. Her word alone would not be enough. The court would vote against her on principle of wanting her gone and someone more corrupt and cruel could take her place. But what purpose was there behind reviving the previous goddesses of Planeptune and Leanbox? Without their sense of self, at that.

Six months ago, she had personally orchestrated the start of the war. The last several centuries had no wars of note, which was a problem. Technology wasn't stagnating but it was slowly moving towards that. Peace made people lenient, lazy, content. As the interim ruler of Pyraba, it was her job to fulfill Lady Arfoire's will. And she had been tasked to bring war to the surface. She cared little for the surface people. Noire was different, though. As someone who could potentially live with her for centuries, she made an excellent companion. Her personality was very adaptive to Pyraba etiquette as well.

Watching the dance, Magic frowned. Right now, her priority was to stop whatever Rei Ryghts was planning. Lady Arfoire had not said anything to her when she inquired about Ryghts motives. She intervened into the world only when absolutely necessary. When the very survival of life and technology was threatened.

The war was coming to a stalemate from what she heard. That by itself was not a problem. It would give nations the chance to polish their new technologies. After each war, military inventions were used in the private sector as well. War was a tremendous boost to technology every time it happened. But it was a medicine best taken in small doses. A war that raged on for decades or centuries was not beneficial.

"What are you planning, Cyan Heart?" Whispering to herself, Magic was sick of seeing the same old faces on the dance floor and vanished into a pile of black clouds. Extremely few people were capable of teleporting in the underground and even fewer capable of doing so outside the graveyard. To Magic's knowledge, only Lady Arfoire and the Grimoire were capable of that. Inside the graveyard, she, as the interim ruler, and some very ancient and powerful nobles could do it as well. Teleportation was limited to specific places one knew in and out. It was impossible to simply teleport into the room of someone else.

Showing up in her own quarters, she found Noire and IF, playing chess. A quick glance told her that IF was winning this round. "Noire. Would you care to join me in the bath? I have a few matters I would like to talk to you about." Turning around and throwing off her robe, Magic cared very little for whether the girl called IF saw her naked or not.

"Don't cheat and move the figures!" Getting up, Noire saw no reason to deny Magic a conversation in the bath. Her embarrassment had mostly melted away, seeing that Magic very much saw her not as a sex object or a trophy but a valuable companion. Entering the bath and carefully stripping and putting her clothes away, she still covered herself with a towel, taking it only off before getting into the water.

Noire's eyes briefly wandered to Magic's enormous chest. She was beating even Green Heart in that area. But what really attracted her was her fine, dark pink hair and the golden eyes. Magic was very exotic looking and she had developed a slight fondness for that.

"I see my appearance has started to catch your eye. I am very flattered." Smiling, Magic moved a little closer to Noire, sitting about a meter in front of her, Noire submerged up to her throat, Magic up to her shoulders, being quite a bit taller than the goddess. "But to my deepest regret, we will need to postpone our discussion of this until after I have talked to you about a much more pressing mater."

"Concerning the traitor? I take it he or she has eluded capture by not breaking any laws herself or providing proof. And even as interim ruler, you cannot judge her guilty on your own." Noire had spent the last two days with her ears to the wall, closely watching Magic's behavior and reactions.

"Very good." Magic was surprised and impressed. "One day, maybe in a few centuries, I might willingly yield my rule to you. But yes. Rei Ryghts has proven to be a worthy opponent."

"Rei Ryghts is the traitor?" Noire was suddenly very relieved she had been locked up before she had gone to Ryghts with her findings, trying to bribe her with it and obtain the secret to transform even down here.

"I can see how this is troubling for you. After all, Ryghts is one of the few that know how to bypass Lady Arfoire's taint. I will not forbid you from dealing with her because of this. However, you should be extremely careful."

Noire nodded slowly. "Thank you for warning me." She would have walked straight into a trap. Magic must have known that. That meant she had become important enough to the enigmatic ruler that mere entertainment was not enough of a tradeoff to let her walk into a potential death trap.

"There is another matter on which I would to have your opinion." It was directly related to the war. "As you are aware, war has destabilized because Ryghts has revived a goddess. In fact, she has revived the original ruler of Leanbox, who goes by the same name as the current one. The war has come to a stalemate due to this. During your absence, Lastation inaugurated a new goddess. Black Sister."

"Uni became a goddess?" Noire was slightly shocked to hear about all of this but the news that Uni had ascended was particularly surprising.

"I intend to rectify Ryghts transgressions by bringing the goddesses' sense of self to the surface. However, I cannot leave Pyraba without causing chaos to break out. Do you believe that the girl IF is trustworthy?"

"You want to use her as the carrier?" Noire had hoped Magic would make her do it, testing if she would run, but apparently she already knew the answer to that.

Lowering her head a little, Noire put her index finger on her cheek and closed her eyes, a position she always assumed when she thought about something difficult. A habit that had broken out during the war. "Do you need her to return?"

"Return or die on the surface after accomplishing her job."

Magic was very uncaring about humans, Noire had long since realized. "I haven't known her for long but due to our current circumstances, we have talked about many things. If you want to ensure that she returns, you must set a condition to force her."

She had planned on that from the beginning. She was simply testing Noire's honesty and judge of character. And she was satisfied. "Now that we have finished talking about work..." Magic got closer to Noire, three of her fingers put under Noire's chin, slightly raising her line of sight to match her own. "I have caught many of your glances towards my bosom and my countenance recently. Even now, you seem to be drawn towards them."

Unintentionally licking over her own lips, Noire blushed quite a bit. With Magic so close, the height and breast size difference was even more apparent than before. But she didn't feel humiliated at all. On the contrary, she was excited to have such a beautiful woman take an interest in her.

"You amuse me to no end, Noire." Letting go of her, Magic nodded to the side. "Would you turn around please?" Waiting for Noire to follow the request, Magic sat behind her, her legs put together and to the side, her arms reaching over the goddess' shoulders, her wet, pink hair touching the goddess' naked back. "I will be so selfish to demand this much from you." Bending forward, Magic's breasts softly touched Noire's small back, her arms locked with each other in front of the goddess.

Swallowing hard, Noire felt incredibly turned on. It was much less... crude than she expected it to be. There were no unnecessarily lewd movements, Magic's hands remained quietly near her stomach and didn't touch her breasts, and she could not even feel the queen's breath on her back. It really was much less than Noire would be willing to give to her.

"I yearn to one day share a moment like this, and beyond, with Black Heart." Almost reading Noire's mind, she placed a barely tangible kiss on her nape. "You were beautiful as you are now, Noire. It is but the extravagance of a goddess in her true form which attracts me beyond your existing beauty and wit." Noticing how the girl felt, Magic smiled. "You are very much adorable when you feel embarrassed or flattered, Noire."

=== OVERHEAT ===

Floating half a meter above ground, Vert was checking if she could handle carrying a person. Stretching, circling once through the cave, she found no problems whatsoever. Summoning her spear, she tried it out, practicing for a few seconds in the air. "How deep underground do you think we are?"

"Maybe ten meters? Maybe twenty?" Falcom was going by complete guesswork. There were at least ten meters between them based on how many slopes she had climbed while trying to find a way out. She only hoped there wasn't a whole mountain above them. **That** would be really bad.

"If Blanc were here, she could break through the ceiling easily." Vert was surprised that Blanc was the first thing she thought of in this situation. Not her country, not getting out, not fear of causing a cave in and dying. No. Blanc.

Was it a good idea to go back to Blanc and show her she was okay? Getting captured again was not something she really had time to deal with. Not after being gone for so long. Maybe she would call her out. They couldn't capture her if she remained high in the air. And she did want to see Blanc.

"I'll try gauging how deep below the surface with are." Landing and walking to a nearby rock formation, Vert pressed her back against it. The technique she was going to use recoil so extreme that she would throw out her shoulder if she didn't use something like the rocks to catch most of the backlash. Six energy rings formed around the top of her lance and she rammed the end against the rock, holding it steady with both hands. While Purple Heart was strong all around, Blanc was excelling in physical power and mass destruction, Noire in speed and technique, she was the best with energy based attacks.

Particles started to accumulate in the tip of her lance, forming a a needle. "Take cover. I don't think this will hold." Vert had developed the technique as a measure against Blanc. Fighting her head on was too dangerous, so sniping her from the distance was a much better choice. It was ironic that the very same technique saved her from being killed by Neptune.

The rings accelerated, spinning so rapidly that the white markings on them were completely invisible to the naked eye. They acted like a turbine, amassing highly condensed energy particles and forcing them into the tip of the lance.

Thirty seconds passed before she was finally ready to fire. It was by design not a technique that could be used on a whim, after all. "Tower of Babylon!"

The recoil shattered the rock formation with the force of detonating dynamite. Vert was able to hold on to her weapon and remain standing due to the rock absorbing most of the shock. An arm thick energy beam passed through the cave so quickly that Falcom barely noticed it hitting the ceiling. A few seconds passed and water started to come down from the ceiling. "Oh my... it seems I hit a river, or lake."

The water kept coming down. Vert flew up and tried to make out how long the water needed from the surface but she couldn't see anything. The water was ice cold, too, so she didn't want to resort to going right beneath the leak. Finding a different formation, she needed Falcom to hold on to her as well for the second shot. Aiming at a different spot, Vert fired again. This time, no water came down.

Flying up, her arms felt quite sore after two shots within a few minutes, Vert could see daylight. They were in luck. "It's at best a four or five meters." She could break through that with some effort. "I'll dig through. You shouldn't get too close, it might break a bit more than I thought.

Pushing her lance into the hole she had made, Vert channeled little bits of energy into it. "Hyper Artillery Light Omission!" With a shredding sound, rock was violently broken apart by tiny energy blasts shooting out of her lance. It was very much not what the technique was designed for but it did the job.

Rocks came crashing down and little bits of water were flowing in from the side as Vert opened up a hole about three meters wide. Repeating the process twice more, she finally broke through. If she had wanted to, she could have left Falcom, but only a truly despicable monster would have done that. "Take my hand."

Pulling the redhead up, through the hole to the surface, Vert and Falcom found themselves in the middle of absolutely nowhere. A small river was running right next to them and a newly collapsed tree had just fallen into it. Vert's handiwork. They were surrounded by snow and ice, the ocean in the far distance to the north. Leaving Falcom on the ground, Vert rose up higher and higher until she could see a town in the distance. The capital city of Lowee. If she went by air, on her own, at full speed, she would make it in ten minutes.

But Vert was not that selfish. "I can carry you to near the capital city. I can't really go in there for obvious reasons, so I'm going to see White Heart via air. I can't take you with me that way."

"I was expecting to walk so that's really fine." Turning to the sun, it still wasn't noon by the looks of it. A full day to enjoy under the glory of the yellow star's warm light sounded really promising to Falcom. "I'll contact a few people I know in Lowee. Gonna try to find my sister. Goddess knows what she is doing. Thank you so much for getting me out of that turnip hell."

"You helped me survive. You nursed me. And I thought the turnip stew was not that bad." Vert smiled a little. She was not in prime condition, especially not after using her abilities to break through the cave ceiling, but she could fend off monsters and soldiers, most likely. "Hold on to my hand. I'm going to fly a bit fast so don't let go. It would be **really** painful if you dropped."

Holding the redhead with both her hands, Vert rose into the air, the chill that was inherent to Lowee's climate sending a quick shiver down her spine. She had forgotten just how cold it was. They didn't feel much of it down in the cave, curiously.

"Do you have a crush on White Heart?" Falcom's question surprised Vert so much that she accidentally let go of Falcom and had to nose dive to catch her. "I'm... I'm sorry..." Falcom was very pale. A drop from a hundred meters height wasn't going to end well.

"You shouldn't surprise me like that." Vert took a deep breath. "I... might not hate her anymore." She couldn't outright admit that she wanted to see Blanc's face. After being thrown in prison, fighting at Blanc's side her to save both of their lives and stranded in turnip hell, her opinion of Blanc still hadn't changed from what she had felt at the tea table. Not hating her was an enormous understatement.

After that, Falcom didn't pry any further, scared that she might be dropped again. And Vert was caught up in her thoughts, thinking about what she should do regarding Blanc. They were still enemies after all.

Slowly losing altitude, Vert landed near a plantation dome about five kilometers outside Lowee's capital city. "Thank you for saving me. Maybe we will meet again." Bowing slightly, Vert took her leave and rose back into the air.

"I hope it won't be on the battlefield!" Falcom shouted after her before putting her hand slightly above her eyes, shielding them from the sun as she watched Vert fly towards the massive tower that harbored Lowee's regent.

"Blanc!" Shouting as loud as she could, Vert was floating about twenty meters away from the balcony and just as many above it. "Blanc! Come out please!" Maybe she shouldn't use please. Soldiers would misunderstand. "**Blanc**!" Hurting her voice a little, Vert coughed twice. And finally, someone showed up. And it wasn't who she expected to see.

With amazing speed, Lowee's oracle came running out of the balcony, covered in azure colored flames. Jumping into the air and taking aim, Vert quickly ascended out of reach. "What are you doing, Mina?!" Vert watched a barrage of energy fly through the air. "Where is Blanc?"

Mina stayed in combat mode. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Wouldn't you think you'd know about that? Leanbox losing their protection and getting overrun by monsters? That hasn't happened!" Vert made a brief pause. "Has it? I didn't feel any problems with my sharicite connection so there shouldn't..."

Mina knew it made sense. The fake Vert had only turned up a couple days after this one had vanished after the battle. "What happened at the battle?!" Mina shouted, ready to melt Vert's face off if she turned out to be another fake, designed to play even more with her goddess' heart.

"Planeptune soldiers captured me and dragged me away! I struggled when I noticed a cruiser was coming down! It smashed them and exploded. I barely got away! The next thing I remember I wake up underground, in an ancient plantation cave, with a girl taking care of me after finding me in the river!" Vert didn't have time to argue with Mina.

Her story was probable but how believable was it? "Where is said girl?!"

"I left her outside the city. I can't exactly play flying taxi all day!" She really wished she had taken Falcom along now. Why did she have to prove she was alive anyway? She was right there. "What is happening that you're so suspicious of me?!"

Mina lowered her fists and straightened up her clothes. Vert watched that in surprise until she heard a clicking noise from right behind her. With a sudden, sharp pain, she was forced out of her goddess mode and started to drop. For about a meter. Looking up, White Heart was keeping her from falling by grabbing her arm. "Now we can talk."

"Blanc?!" She hadn't even felt her coming. When had the White Goddess gotten so sneaky? And how had she touched an anti-crystal choker while maintaining her own transformation? A single look at her arms made that very clear. Azure blue gloves covered her arms.

Slowly flying over to the balcony, Blanc dropped Vert, gently, in front of Mina, who was eying her with suspicion. "And I thought I could avoid getting captured if I kept my distance." Shrugging, she was far less upset than she thought she should be. "Would you two tell me already what is going on?"

Blanc landed right behind her and remained in her goddess form. She didn't trust _this_ Vert yet. But at least she was acting a lot like the one that went missing. "What's the name of the girl? What does she look like?"

"Red hair, orange-brown eyes, blue-white skirt, boots and vest. Her name is Falcom. I left her at the plantation dome to the north." Vert sighed. "It's been a while, I assume, and now that I'm back to being a prisoner, would you like me to make tea?" Forcing her smile just a little bit, Vert really wondered what in the world was going on.

Whistling for her guards, telling them the description Vert had given her and sending them off, Blanc wanted to see if this girl actually existed. Turning to Mina, Blanc looks spoke volumes. "She does have the right divinity mode..."

"I'm positive that its not possible to clone a goddess." _Or perfectly clone people in general_. Mina ruled that out. No matter how sophisticated technology became, the inauguration to the sharicite left a unique genetic imprint that couldn't be replicated in any way. "If your story is true, why did you come back?"

She would have preferred not to say it. "I was looking to tell Blanc that I'm alive." Vert turned around and looked at the much shorter goddess for a moment before she leaned forward, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I wanted to see you, Blanc."

Despite everything that had happened, Blanc's heart suddenly started to beat faster and she took a step back. "Wha- what are you saying?!" Feeling like she was about to blush, Blanc turned away. But she could hear Vert's giggle, agitating her even more.

Basing it on the way she acted and what she said, Mina wanted to believe her. But there were problems with her story. "Why did it take you this long to show yourself?"

"Look." Walking in front of Mina and turning around, Vert brushed her hair aside and waited for the oracle to inspect her back. "I was unconscious for several days according to Falcom. We broke out of the cave, she was unable to do so alone, less than an hour ago. I came here right away after dropping her off."

"Mina, I think we can trust her." Blanc had gotten a hold of herself but she was on her guard against Vert. In all the sadness over thinking she had lost her, she had never thought about what she would do if she **wasn't** dead after all. Now that the situation was at hand, she was completely lost. Since Vert's personality was like _that_, she couldn't just hug her, despite wanting to. Not to mention that she didn't want to lose face like that in front of Mina.

"Isn't it time that you told me why you are distrusting me so much?" This was way beyond just being the leader of an enemy nation. Even at the very start of her imprisonment had she not been under such suspicion.

"We don't know who, but someone tried to scam us with another Vert. She looked like you and acted like you would have before you were caught by Planeptune and us." Blanc explained things in a compact way. There would be time for details later. "Her divinity dress was black and Mina thinks she is actually your predecessor, back from the dead."

"You're joking, right?" Vert couldn't believe a nonsensical story like that. She had seen some weird things during the war, with Neptune being the craziest, but dead people coming back?

"She is currently ruling Leanbox. And she has Ram and Rom." Lowee's goddess wasn't in the best of moods because of that. But at least they were being treated very well. "Leanbox has fortified their borders intensely. There is basically no getting in or out."

"Blanc, if that's the truth, you have to let me go. I need to get things in order over there." She couldn't just let **anyone** run her country. And what was Chika doing, letting her stay in control?

"There most likely isn't much you can do. She founded Leanbox with the people and ruled over it for centuries, just like you have. She was able to transform, which means a connection to the sharicite exists. If you went there, things would only get worse. Leanbox has imposed a forced non-aggression state on Lowee against all other nations. Lastation, who we have a non-aggression pact with, will adhere to that as well. There is also no way to tell what she might do to Lady Ram and Rom if you start a power struggle." Mina was very matter of fact about things. She also wanted to hold Vert because it would be good for Lady Blanc.

"You can't expect me to just sit back and turn over leadership to her!" Turning to the white goddess, Vert made a plead. "Blanc, please!"

"I'm sorry, Vert. But Mina is right. I don't want some wannabe ruling Leanbox either, but so far she has forced a stalemate on the war and rescued Ram and Rom from Planeptune. I'm in no position to jeopardize the well being of my little sisters." Shaking her head, Blanc finally turned back into her human form. "Mina, get me a set of bracelets and anklets please. I'll put them on Vert myself later." She didn't want her oracle to do it. It was a great way to share a quiet moment with Vert. At this point, she wasn't disillusioned about her feelings anymore. She liked Vert, in a romantic way. "I'm going to prepare for our trip to Lastation."

"Blanc! Do you want me to beg?!" Vert clenched her fists. She loved her people more than any other goddess loved theirs. She wouldn't stand for some imposter ruling her nation, predecessor or not.

It wasn't Blanc who stopped her from degrading herself. "Lowee wants to reinstate Leanbox's proper ruler as soon as possible. Do not misunderstand Lady Blanc's intentions. She cares about your well being. But there are just too many problems with letting you go. For the time being, settle for the fact that Leanbox is fine and that your stay here will guarantee the well being of Lady Ram and Rom." _And that Lady Blanc will finally smile again_. Mina didn't know why she wasn't stopping this budding romance right there. It would only bring pain to both of them. They were enemies and even if the war ended, it would be centuries before the people forgave the other nations. Centuries of being unable to be with each other.

Vert was no fool. She understood their reasons, she just didn't want to accept that they were sound. Mina's words were a slight consolation despite that. And staying with Blanc wasn't bad either.

=== OVERHEAT ===

She was hesitating. Her researchers and engineers had put together the extraction machine in a hurry. They guaranteed her it would work but they could not add anything that would make the process easier on her.

That was not the reason she hesitated. She could _tell_ that there were advantages to her current state of being. Maniacal behavior, slipping control of her own body and signs of insanity were the obvious disadvantages. But she kept mostly in control when transformed and the transformation had become completely painless. That, and her power was greater than ever. Abandon the power and become normal again, or put up with the disadvantages for a while longer?

In truth, it wasn't a real question. She was too proud to think she would have to rely on this power to win the war. Planeptune had been winning all along, even if it was at horrifying costs. She could handle a bit more pain. And the project was almost complete to begin with.

"Prepare for extraction." Purple Heart was resolute. She needed to be in complete control of her own body. It was bad enough that her human consciousness was acting up. Her carefree and loving attitude was a problem in times of war. Sealing that away had been a hard choice but she was not fit to rule during war time without doing that much. It was the reason Planeptune had lost every single other war. Her lenience as Neptune.

One of the soldiers slipped away slowly, unseen or heard. If caught, she could state she simply couldn't take seeing their goddess in pain, which was undoubtedly going to happen. But in truth, she was a spy for the resistance. With Lady Nepgear and Lady Histoire back together, they had been making moves. Bringing influential people to their side, showing them that Planeptune was running down the path to destruction. For the less willing there were... means.

Nepgear was a little more than a kilometer below the surface, almost right under her sister's nose. An abandoned mine to the north of the palace served as the main base for the resistance. Sitting in a small mining hut, Nepgear was talking to Histoire and the younger Falcom. "We just got word that my sister is going through a process to have _it_, whatever it is that changed her for the worse, removed from her body."

"I do not believe we should stop. Even without her recent acts, Purple Heart and Planeptune have been leading the race for committing the most war crimes in Gamindustri history." The Tome of the World, Histoire, was very much concerned for the well being of the nation. She had helped and served many goddesses, not just those of Planeptune, but ever since becoming their oracle, she was very focused on the nation.

Nepgear nodded in agreement. "We can't let her do any other crazy things. Planeptune is already hated by the rest of the world." At this point, even if she took over and became a goddess, she couldn't surrender. She would have to continue the war, as giving up meant abandoning any chance for survival of her nation. But she was determined to save her sister.

"If I was able to gain access to the sharicite I could at least temporarily disrupt her connection to it, significantly lowering the amount of share energy she will be able to access." Histoire had come up with a plan to remove Neptune from her ruling position. If both the military and private sectors came together, the combined efforts of political influence and power would allow them to force Neptune to step down or execute half the nation. Especially now that she was having the energy from the other goddess removed, Neptune was extremely unlikely to pick the second option. Even if she should, they had a backup plan in place.

Falcom was about to say her piece when her communicator rang. She took care of leading the troops, knowing her way around battle and stealth operations despite her low age. Of course, she was advised by some of the more high ranking officials in the resistance in doing so. "Did something happen?"

Listening for a few seconds, Falcom put down her communicator. "A battle with unknown intruders has broken out in the lowest part of the mine. There are no causalities yet and the intruders are demanding to speak to a person in charge. They don't have positive identification on either of them. I'm going down. Nepgear, please stay here. This could be a trap." Falcom didn't want Nepgear to get abducted **again** this shortly after getting her back.

Falcom was the de-facto leader of the resistance's military operations. Nepgear could veto her at any moment and take control, and so could Histoire, but neither of them saw any reason to do so. She had proven herself during the rescue and infiltration mission.

"Be careful." Nepgear was very thankful to have met the redhead. She had been a great help so far and even though Planeptune's ultimate fate had nothing to do with her, she willingly helped.

Taking an old elevator down, Falcom wondered if she would ever get her own sword back. It was a hand-me-down from her sister, but that was precisely why she was attached to it. Right now she was using both a semi-automatic rifle and a short sword she had received from one of the commanders before Nepgear had been kidnapped the first time.

Arriving at the lowermost level, Falcom immediately ducked and advanced, her rifle put against her shoulder. She wasn't a good shot but she could keep up with some of the less experienced troops. Any specialized unit would easily outclass her on the other hand.

"Situation?" Finding two soldiers covering behind several massive crates containing dirt and scrap ore, Falcom tried to peek down the corridor, seeing nothing in the dark. The lamps had been shot.

"Two enemies, possibly more. At least one is capable of using energy techniques." It was unusual for humans to be able to do that but not unheard of by a long shot. It might have been that way several centuries ago but with the advance of technology, even humans were becoming capable of using such advanced means.

Putting her back against the crate, Falcom started to yell. "I'm in charge! What do you want?!"

There was no answer for a few seconds. "You sound too cute to be in charge! Stop lying-" Her sentence ended halfway and a short pause disrupted the tension in the air. "Okay, fine. We only want to go through. There is a tunnel that connects north and we want to go north!"

One of the soldiers almost broke out in laughter. "I bet one of them said that the voice of our _cute_ commander has nothing to do with her being in charge."

"I heard that." Falcom leered and softly bonked the butt of her rifle on the soldiers head, making the other soldier point and grin at her. Raising her voice, she started up again. "We can't just let anyone through! This is Planeptune state property!" Immediately taking a combat stance upon seeing movement, the two soldiers followed, four others coming down the elevator at the same time.

"Don't shoot! I'm coming out!" A girl slowly walked through the dark. Falcom didn't recognize her but she was taller than her sister. And a lot bustier. "I'm Marvelous, Leader of the Gamindustri Anti-war Measures Expedition. I'm heading north to purchase medicine for a wounded girl." She knew when it was important to keep the details of a mission under wraps. Bringing Atelier to her side won't be easy and she couldn't afford to get caught here, by Planeptune troops.

"An anti-war resistance?" Falcom suddenly saw a very good opportunity. "Keep her in check. You four, help them. If she attacks you have permission to use deadly force." Taking a few steps away, just out of hearing range, Falcom took her communicator and called Nepgear. "Yes. Another resistance that is working to end the war. We don't know their numbers or power yet. Nepgear, that's too risky. Okay, I can do that. No. I said no. Wasn't getting kidnapped once enough? **After** I'm through, okay?" Falcom was fighting hard to keep Nepgear from showing her face.

Walking up close to the intruder, Falcom was surrounded by soldiers, aiming at Marvelous' head. "Depending on your methods, numbers and contacts, we're interested in joining forces. We're the Planeptune resistance that follow Lady Nepgear. If you really want to end the war, you should cooperate with us and stop Planeptune from further transgressions against human rights by helping us replace the ruling goddess."

"Nisa, come out!" Marvelous lowered her arms. "We can talk. I'm not promising anything, but we can talk." She was very much a person of two faces. When things got serious, so did she. Talking relaxed and friendly to Nisa, she was serious, matter-of-fact and cautious with Falcom.

Both the self-proclaimed hero of justice and the leader of GAME were taken into custody of the resistance for the time being. Taking the elevator up, Falcom would ask them in detail of their operations, numbers and other various things. There was no doubting the capabilities of the Planeptune resistance, but nobody had ever heard of GAME before. It would be a long day for either of them.

=== END OF LINE ===


	12. Connect: Modules

******Follow me on twitter for updates on when a new chapter goes live. twitter/KuuTenko**

**Overheat**

_Execute: 1111101010_

**Connect: Modules**

To avoid needlessly using her share energy storing crystal, Mina had talked her goddess into carrying her to Lastation. Vert had been left behind, guarded by two soldiers, who were at the time very nervous, since the last guard had ended up with yard duty. Landing on the balcony, Uni had previously cleared their arrival, Mina fixed her clothes and Blanc remained transformed. "Lady Uni is waiting for you in the conference room. This way." They were greeted by Kei, Lastation's equivalent of Mina.

"I know the way." Blanc marched past her, dematerializing her wings. She didn't need a babysitter to find the conference room. She had been there multiple times in the last few centuries, for various reasons.

"Want to get lunch?" Mina knew that the discussion would be purely face to face between goddesses and goddesses only. She was merely an accessory and bodyguard to her ruler at the moment. With her energy crystal fully charged, she could match Kei, if only for a few minutes at best. She hoped there would be no cause to even think about it anymore than this.

The moment Blanc and the handful of soldiers that had stayed inside were gone, Kei's posture slipped. Yawning, several strands of hair sprung up and intense exhaustion was suddenly very visible on her face. "I wanna go back to sleep..." After going back to her room last night, she had been called again because of am emergency in the city. She had only slept a handful of hours after working for dozens of hours.

"Coffee then? You can't go to sleep yet, right? Uni still has to brief you on what she and Lady Blanc will talk about." Probing how tired she actually was, Mina had addressed Lastation's goddess casually.

Nodding, Kei dragged herself away. She just wasn't herself when she didn't sleep enough. And that was meant quite literally so. There was no trace of her usual obsession with formalities and workaholic attitude after she hit a certain point. And she was way past that now. "Been a while since I got anyone going to my room so there's a big mess all over it. Be careful so you don't get buried."

_Buried_? Mina was slightly worried. She didn't take Kei to be the messy type. In fact, with her personality, that was very much impossible, Mina thought. Following her past the conference room, Mina suddenly remembered the last time she had been in Lastation, about sixty or seventy years ago. There was a four nation conference about the on-going drought that was destroying the crops. That time, there had been no soldiers positioned all over the place and the air was not as tense. Even though the nations were only connected by a NAP, the soldiers seemed at relative ease, having White Heart and her oracle on the top floor of their most important building.

Reaching Kei's room, the silver haired girl with the boyish haircut quickly talked to a servant who knew what she wanted long before the oracle had finished explaining. "Living off coffee?" Mina knew well how much of a workaholic the girl was. Lastation had much more paperwork than any other nation so even with her like that, the goddess and candidate still had a lot of work occasionally.

Shaking her head, Kei unlocked the door by having a sensor scan her retina. Lastation prided itself in its security. After an unknown force had compromised their entire network two decades ago, Gamindustri's black jewel had focused all of its efforts on their cyber security. The result was an abundance of scientists and engineers but a lack of military power.

Kei didn't kid. Mina really had to watch her every step so she didn't knock over a pillar of documents and books. She should have expected that. The oracle took work _home_ so to speak. "Just sit on my bed. I only got one chair. Sorry about that." Yawning again, much louder and shamelessly than before, Kei blinked a few times. "What's so important anyway, Mina? Haven't seen you in Lastation in like a decade... I mean, century." Resting her head on the back of the chair, Kei looked at the blue haired oracle.

At one time, she had met her on the battlefield, hundreds of years ago. It was the one and only memory from that time she still saw vividly in her mind. The day she first learned why people called Mina the Azure Blaster. She was not looking forward to experiencing that again.

Mina didn't want to talk about work. This was her chance to set things up with Kei. If she wasn't going to stay single for the next millennia as well, she needed to do something on her own. "Do you still spend all your time working?"

"More or less. It's just so damn much paperwork. We're working on going digital only, but it'll be a while before anything's gonna change. Lowee has it easier. You delegated a lot of stuff to subordinates, right?"

"Everything that isn't vital. I have Lady Ram and Rom to watch over after all." Mina bounced very slightly on the bed. It was comfortable. She wouldn't mind spending a night there. But she was getting ahead of herself. "You're much more pleasant to be around when you're tired, Kei."

"I've got a reputation to keep. But everything has its limit. When I'm this tired, it just all sounds ridiculous and nonsensical and I can't be bothered. I always regret showing myself to others like this. You've known me for centuries, so its fine though." Kei yawned loudly, not even bothering to cover her mouth. "Sorry 'bout that." Rubbing her eyes, Kei was incredibly tired.

"If both of our nations get out of this war alive, want to go out for dinner?" Mina didn't like beating around the bush much and Kei was much too intelligent to fall for any petty schemes, too.

"I don't mind. But at the rate this is going, we might fight for another decade. Or maybe the planet is dust by then, with Planeptune going insane lately." Yawning yet again, Kei abruptly shook her head. "What do you think, what are our proteges talking about right now?"

Mina had a pretty good idea of what was happening.

"There are **two** Verts?" Uni sat at the end of a long table, all but a single seat to her right empty. Explaining the disappearance of the current Vert, the appearance of the old one, the _fake_, and the reappearance of the current ruling one, Blanc figured that it would be confusing. "The previous Leanbox goddess both called herself Vert and Green Heart, just like the current one?" Titles were something either taken by the goddess herself or passed on in some cases. Lowee had been ruled by White Heart for millennia now. She didn't actually know the name of the original goddess that ruled Lastation after founding it.

"This is highly sensitive information so don't you tell anyone, are we clear?" Despite Uni now being her equal, a goddess, Blanc looked down on her a little. It took decades to fully grasp the responsibilities that came with the job. "Leanbox also has Ram and Rom. They're fine but who knows how long they'll keep it that way." Talking about them, the white goddess felt a bit on edge. "She offered to return one of them to me in exchange for me calling a ceasefire with all other nations. You're my ally right now, so I figured we should discuss this."

"Shouldn't we try to figure out where this other Vert came from, first?" Uni had her hands full with looking for Nepgear and watching Planeptune. The final tests of the UMD were scheduled soon as well. She couldn't operate on a basis of not knowing what was going on.

"What do you think will happen to Leanbox when they find out there are two Verts?" Blanc saw that Uni was still struggling with the larger political issues. "I may see them as my enemy, but I don't want civil war to break out." Lowee followed the principle of assimilating beaten enemies, not destroy them when they're already on the ground.

"I'm in favor of the ceasefire, regardless of how it happened. Your capital city was damaged pretty badly during Planeptune's attack, right? You should rebuild before you continue the war, Blanc." Uni wanted to stall for time. Something she needed very badly, both to rule her country and to find Nepgear.

"Its not the damn ceasefire that worries me. What is that other Vert planning? Leanbox hasn't really suffered any major losses during the war, unlike Lowee and Lastation. There is something else to it."

"Maybe she needs time to fully take over as ruler? That would explain why she wants to avoid military struggle." Uni was very intelligent but the finer workings of politics and warfare still escaped her somewhat.

"I didn't come here to get your opinion on what she might be planning." Getting up, White Heart walked the long way around the table. "We won't be able to find out for sure until after I have to give her my answer." It was not entirely true. Vert had not set a deadline for her, although she no doubt expected an answer sooner than later. "I'm talking to you about this to see what Lastation's stance is on this. We came together to take out Planeptune. With a ceasefire imposed on me by Leanbox, there is no meaning to our alliance."

It was a difficult call to make. And being put on the spot like that without any warning didn't help at all. The UMD was almost ready and that was Lastation's big ace up the sleeve to win the war, either by sitting it out while the other three destroyed each other or by showing them that they couldn't possibly compete with Lastation's level of technology. She wanted the ceasefire, but it really was a double edged sword. With the UMD nearly ready, Lowee at their side, Leanbox seeing a ceasefire and Planeptune being quiet, Lastation had a truly once in a lifetime chance to get rid of Purple Heart's nation. And if she waited too long, that chance might pass and she would regret it later.

"What about Planeptune? The older Vert only demanded a ceasefire from you, right? Lastation and Planeptune are free to do whatever they want. And so is Leanbox, technically."

"It's possible that she is shrewd enough to plot something like this only to try and get rid of Planeptune herself, or attack Lastation. By ensuring Lowee doesn't attack anyone, we won't even be able to lend you troops in the case of an attack." Blanc was seeing more and more reasons to reject the ceasefire offer. If she couldn't get both of her sisters back together, it would be less cruel to leave both of them in Leanbox for the time being, since they were treated well. "Its also possible that this is all a plan Purple Heart made. She took Ram and Rom after we stopped that maniac from blowing up Lowee. Doesn't take a genius to see that Vert must have made some kind of trade with her to get them." Not that she wasn't grateful they were out of Planeptune. Purple Heart was a monster that had to be stopped and she was happy that her sisters were not in her custody anymore.

"Lastation is surrounded by all other nations, just like Planeptune. Lowee and Leanbox can't directly attack each other in large numbers. If Planeptune or Leanbox, possibly both of them together as allied force, attack Lastation, we won't be able to handle it." In a war like this, two enemies joining up to take out a single foe spelled certain doom for the object of the nation's combined efforts. Had Planeptune made Leanbox the offer to ally themselves with them in an attempt to stop Lastation and Lowee from eradicating Planeptune?

"There's a shitload we don't know, but there's no helping making a decision." Blanc wasn't going to have an easy time making her decision. It wasn't just about getting Ram and Rom back. The well being of Lowee and possibly Lastation would depend on it. "If you need me covering your ass in the case of Leanbox and Planeptune teaming up, you have to tell me."

Uni didn't approve of calling it _covering her ass_ but she did think that it would be beneficial to stay allied with Lowee at least for now. If possible, she didn't want to go to war with Lowee anymore. Blanc seemed like a reasonable person and she hoped she could negotiate her way out of a situation when Planeptune and Leanbox were dealt with. "Won't rejecting the ceasefire make Vert take action against your sisters?"

"I doubt it. Doing that would give me just reason to take advantage of our alliance and march against Leanbox. Vert must know that." Calling the fake by the name of the girl she was in love with was starting to irritate her a lot.

Uni had to swallow her pride to say what she had to say. Something that came with the job was requirement to go past personal feelings and do what was right for the nation. "On behalf of Lastation, I ask you to reject Leanbox's demand to abide by a ceasefire then." She was still Blanc's equal. More than a formal request would be humiliating. And Lastation was not in a position where they had to bow to Lowee for help.

"I was planning on doing that anyway, but good to see you're learning how to rule this place." Blanc still wanted to win the war but was starting to see the benefits of merely _taking over_ territory instead of destroying it. Atelier had done wonders for their economy and they were very obedient. The main problem posed what she would do with Noire, Uni and their oracle. "Next on our agenda is what to do about Leanbox and the fake. If she allies, or already did, with that crazy bitch, we'll be in real trouble."

"More than a pact to take out Planeptune, I would like to formerly ally with Lowee in this war. This is not about us needing Lowee or the other way around. This is about protecting the only nations that are being ruled by sane people. Another goddess that suddenly resurrected cannot be trusted and Planeptune is in a state of civil war."

"What brought this on?" Blanc was suspicious of the sudden offer. "And there is a civil war going on in Planeptune?"

"Nepgear is trying to usurp her sister and take over." Uni's tone and demeanor made clear that she wouldn't reveal how or when she had gotten this information. "Lowee and Lastation forming an alliance will force the hand of the fake Vert and Planeptune. Whatever they're planning, they will have to execute it prematurely."

"Let's assume we beat them and divide their territory among ourselves. What stops you from backstabbing me in the end?"

"I want this war to end. As things are, the citizens continue to suffer, everywhere. My older sis wouldn't ask you this, but don't you want your people to be safe?"

"They will be safe when Lowee covers the world. Our nations have been fighting each other ever since their creation. Sometimes with military power, sometimes with money. I have a chance to stop all of that and unite the world under Lowee. Noire, Neptune and Vert all want the same thing. The only way to permanently stop this struggle is for everyone else to vanish."

"What about co-existing?" Uni wasn't an advocate of the _till the last girl standing_ philosophy. She wanted Lastation to win as well, but if there was an alternative to wiping out **everyone else** then she would at least explore it.

"Look where _co-existing_ has gotten us to. We're only talking like this, as allies, because Planeptune and Leanbox are threats. What do you think will happen when they're gone?" Blanc's icy glare made pretty clear what she meant. "Keep in mind that this is a **temporary** alliance, Black Sister."

Negotiating with Blanc for lasting peace seemingly wasn't an option. Sighing, Uni came back to the original topic. "We're going to monitor Leanbox and Planeptune closely. In exchange for military forces in the case of an attack, we'll share our intelligence with Lowee."

"I'm fine with that. I'll have Mina cover the deployment and reception of intelligence." Blanc was looking for a more concrete plan of action. "We should look into attacking Planeptune while they are busy with their civil war. Their forces will be stretched thin. But first we need to find a way to take care of Neptune. The last time I needed Ram and Rom to prevent her from blowing up Lowee's capital city in one big damn firework."

"Is she really that powerful?" Uni had not seen her fight in person recently or even recorded footage of her transformation. All the reports said the same though; that she was unbelievably strong and cruel.

"You or me alone won't stand a chance. Vert and I barely managed to fend her off when she attacked Lowee. The last time I saw her I barely got to touch her after she transformed. The only way to take her out is to force that bitch out of her goddess mode and lock her up. That or kill her."

The latter part was not something Uni wanted any hand in. Nepgear would forever hate the people responsible for killing her sister, no matter how much of a misguided monster she had become. "What do you intend to do with the goddesses of whatever country you're conquering?"

Her thoughts shifted to Vert. If she conquered Leanbox, it meant she was limiting Vert's lifespan. Dooming her to die within a few centuries didn't seem like something she should do. Was it possible to let the capital city remain standing but take the territory all around so the goddess could keep on living? She would need to consult Mina on the number of shares required and how many people were necessary for the shares. "I don't know yet. In the case of Purple Heart, I can't think of any way but either execution or lifelong imprisonment in a maximum security facility built specifically for her."

"You hate her that much?"

"She's a genocidal, insane bitch. She single-handedly escalated this war by going bonkers. What the hell is there not to hate?" Blanc was getting angry now. What did Uni think happened to enemy leaders? "What would **you** do with her?"

Uni had no answer for that. After seeing how much Nepgear loved her sister despite what she was doing, she couldn't get herself to think about killing Purple Heart. Locking her up seemed to be the only option, unless they magically found a way to turn her back to normal.

"Thought so. There is one more thing we need to talk about. The distribution of land among us if we take out Planeptune. I don't know how Lastation handles their conquered territory, but Lowee treats their new citizens well."

This was another thing that Uni had not considered until now. It was difficulty to say what she was going to do. Taking over the land and having the people become citizens of their state, like Lowee did it, seemed the most humane approach. But there was the risk of rebellion and that could in turn cost her a lot more than she would gain from letting them live. Imposing harsh restrictions on them would be one possible course but she didn't like that. Closely monitoring them as possible hostile forces seemed like it was her most viable choice. She didn't have Blanc's unconditional trust into the people of other nations.

"Looks like you know what you're going to do. I just wanted to make sure that you're ready. I can't have you falling behind when it matters." Summoning her ax, Blanc whirled it around once and pointed it at Uni. "For the same reason I'm going to have to test your strength in a real battle. We're going outside. That is not a request. Its a condition for our continued cooperation to take out Planeptune."

Back in Kei's room, Mina had managed to clear the large table and asked one of the soldiers to bring them actual breakfast that didn't consist of just six cups of coffee, what seemed to be Kei's usual. "I wonder why Lady Uni asked me to not participate in the discussion." Talking with her mouth full of cheese sandwich, Kei sighed. Lady Noire wouldn't have tolerated her oracle forced out of a conversation like that.

"Maybe she wanted you to have a break." _Or she didn't want to give Lady Blanc the impression the Lastation oracle was a sleepyhead._ "Just enjoy breakfast with me. Even though it is actually time for lunch."

"You've changed since the last time I saw you, Mina. You're a lot... hm.. well, I guess prettier too, but its more than you're... nice to talk to? Last time you were constantly reprimanding me for everything." Taking a look at Mina's chest, Kei sighed again. "I should have waited a year or two before making the sharicite."

"I like the way you look, Kei." Mina had served short goddesses with little to no chest and short hair for centuries. It was an acquired taste by now. And Kei could have easily posed as a goddess of Lowee if she wore the proper clothes.

"If you're going to say I look just like your Blanc I'm going to smack you." She was just a bit self-conscious of her lacking chest, even though Lady Uni was pretty much of the same size. They both paled compared to Noire.

"You should be satisfied with your looks, Kei. You're really pretty."

"I look like an exploded mop right now. Still pretty?"

"Yes." Mina let a bright smile accompany her words.

"You're weird. But thanks." Shoving the last bit of sandwich into her mouth, Kei looked at all the work that had piled up because of the war. "I wish I could clone myself. A dozen copies and I would be able to work through this fairly quickly."

"Its not good to shoulder all of this alone. You should get help, at least while we're at war." Looking at the table and the atmosphere in the room, Mina could have been fooled into thinking there was no war waiting for her outside this room.

"You should just stay here and help me." Mina was not the only one that was interested in having a special someone. Kei was a little socially awkward and always struggling when it came to people she didn't know. That was why she had adopted a completely sterile and formal way of behaving.

"Lady Blanc would be horribly angry. And we both don't want that." Mina had seen her goddess with seething rage before. It wasn't pretty. And most of all, it wasn't nice to be around when it happened.

Getting up, Kei was done eating. "Do you have your SES with you?" Every oracle received a share energy storage crystal, short SES, from Histoire after they mastered the creation process of the sharicite.

Mina was just a little bit suspicious of Kei asking about it. "I do. I never leave Lowee without it."

"It's been a work in progress for over a century. This is my old SES." Putting it on the table in front of Mina, she watched the Lowee oracle give her a worried look. It was important for an oracle to never lose that crystal or hand it to anyone. "And this is my improved one." Pulling up her sleeve, Kei revealed a crystalline bracelet that was almost welded to her skin. "I can't take it off but it is strong enough store enough energy to let me fight at full power for up to a full day. It takes about as long to charge it, though."

"Where did you get this?" Mina was both fascinated and worried by the power of that new, improved SES. An oracle that could go anywhere and use her full share powers for a full day was a serious threat, even to a goddess and their candidates.

"I've been looking into the SES during my free time." Noticing Mina's look, Kei groaned. "Yes, that's why it took me 120 years to develop it." Going to her desk and taking out a small bottle with a semi-translucent, silvery liquid, she put it in front of Mina. "This is what I used. It copies the atomic structure of the SES crystal. You put about 100 milliliters of this into a bowl, put a bit of blood or a hair or something that has your DNA in it into it and add the SES."

"Are you giving it to me?" Mina would be very happy if she wasn't confined to the capital most of the time. She was a great fighter and with Lady Ram and Lady Rom not in Lowee at the moment, she had a lot of free time she could use. "We might end up enemies again, you know?"

"That's why I want you to have it. I'd be... well, I'd be sad if you were killed." She didn't quite know how to properly express that she cared for Mina. She was the only person from when she had become an oracle that was still alive. And since Lastation was founded by people that separated from Lowee, she did feel somewhat connected to her.

"And you don't want anything in return?"

"Does that offer for dinner still stand? We probably have to eat in here since I can't get away from my work too much, though..." Yawning, Kei felt the effect of the caffeine wane. It wouldn't be long before she crashed. "Sorry 'bout that again. I think-" A second yawn. She was heading towards falling asleep standing very fast.

She was woken up rudely by a massive explosion reaching her ears, coming from the outside.

About a hundred meters above the castle, Blanc was blocking a single continuous energy beam that Uni was firing at her. "Is that all?!" Shouting, she let herself be pushed back a little bit to have enough room for her next maneuver. Strafing to the right, Blanc fired several smaller energy blasts towards Uni, who she thought stationary on a large magic circle, using it to support her massive rifle. It significantly improved her accuracy.

Shifting the magic circle through the air, the maneuver caught Blanc off guard, who had thought her location to be fixed in place. "Tracking Spread Shot!" Firing a single large blast, the shot burst into eight smaller beams, each tracking Blanc in a unique fashion.

"Gigant Wave!" Increasing the size of her ax twofold, Blanc simply took all of the shots head on, smashing them to pieces with her massive weapon, measuring easily four times her own size. Flying towards Uni, Blanc was forced to dodge below, a concentrated energy blast shooting past her. If one of those hit her, she'd be down for the count, most likely. But Uni was still holding back, she could feel it. "Stop treating this like a game! Or are you just a shitty stand-in for your sister?!"

She wouldn't let Lowee's goddess mock her like that. "Unlock limiter: 100% mode!" Steam immediately came shooting out of the large device and several smaller barrels mounted on it opened up. "Hailstorm Assault!" Firing several thousand rounds within seconds, Blanc was suddenly flying towards a figurative wall of bullets, rushing towards her.

But she wouldn't have to deal with it. With a sizzling sound, the bullets were destroyed by a tsunami like wave of azure fire. Reaching the altitude Blanc was at, Mina was keeping herself afloat by using the fire around her legs like rocket engines. Her expression and body language was so tense that Uni instinctively took a step back. She **knew** the oracles could fight, she had just never seen Lowee's oracle in action.

"What is the meaning of this, Black Sister?!" Shouting, Mina launched several spheres of azure colored plasma at Uni. They were deflected, having no effect at all, by a suddenly appearing diamond colored wall in front of the white haired goddess.

"Stop this, Mina." Her hair fixed up and her eyes wide open, Kei jumped from platform to platform, created as she jumped and vanishing the moment she left them. They were solid and made of an unbreakable diamond infused metal alloy. Mina wasn't the only one that had earned a nick name for her way of fighting during the centuries. Kei was Aegis, specialized in defense. As strong as Mina was offensively, Kei was just as skilled in defense. "Lady Uni, is everything alright?"

Sighing, Blanc dematerialized her weapon and put her hand on Mina's shoulder. "I was testing her skill. She hasn't had a chance to fight since she became a goddess so I needed to know if she could handle it."

"That's pretty much it." Uni dematerialized her own weapon and magic circle, staying afloat next to Kei.

"I would have greatly appreciated it if Mina and I could have been informed of this before the actual event took place." Kei was completely back in formal mode now, much to the annoyance of Mina whose eyes were dangerously twitching.

"You think I would bother to make her come out all this way if I wanted to attack her?" Blanc clicked her tongue. "If I wanted to kill her, I'd have taken off her head in surprise during our talks. Mina, we're leaving. I can trust her to carry her weight. And I said everything I had to."

"I'll be there right away." Mina had left the bottle with the liquid Kei had presented her in the oracle's room. Said oracle was already on her way down, accompanying Mina back, while Uni and Blanc remained in the air.

"Until today, I had never seen those two fight." She was amazed by how strong they were. Lowee's oracle had destroyed her shots with heat so great that it burned the bullets on a molecular level. If a person were to get hit by that, it would be fatal, goddess or not. She didn't want to get on **her** bad side.

"Mina can be quite fearsome if she gets ticked off." Blanc had only heard about Aegis before and only in passing mention. She didn't think there was anyone capable of defending against Mina's plasma spheres. Only very few things in the world were capable of resisting incineration from them. "Let's land before your soldiers make a fuss, too."

=== OVERHEAT ===

She didn't know how and why she was back, ruling Leanbox, but one thing was certain. She **liked it**. And she wouldn't give up her seat as the rightful leader of Leanbox, not a second time. Her successor must have blown it. It explained her absence, as well.

Looking at Chika, she felt just a little guilty for deceiving her. She had been her loyal companion for four centuries, the entire period of her short rule, and she had made her believe that she was actually the second goddess. After passing out in front of the sharicite, her real memories had returned. And something else.

It was the price she had to pay for ruling again. Three very simple commands. The first of which she was already following. _Disrupt the war_. It was easy to do that once she knew what was going on. She had help, as well. Knowing of Pyraba, there was someone there that had brought her back and was now guiding her. It would be several days before she could follow the second command and she had to make sure that Chika did not cause any problems.

Without feeling any additional guilt, Vert got up, put on her clothes, and left, heading for the lowest part of the castle, ignoring the enthusiastic soldiers that welcomed her. _If only they knew_, she laughed to herself. Reaching the basement, a storage floor beneath the prison, Vert went all the way to the back and pushed three specific bricks in order. With a creaking sound, the wall shifted. Only she, the true ruler of Leanbox, knew about the many secret passages.

A brown haired woman with a big blue coat was waiting behind the wall, playing a video game on a handheld in total darkness. "'bout time. How long were you planning on making me wait?" Taking a injection gun out of her pocket, something that didn't belong to her attire, she casually threw it to Vert. "The bullet is loaded. It will swap her perception of you and the other one but it doesn't do anything fancy like adjusting memories or shit so watch out. Oh yeah. Got a message from that disgusting tranny for you. _Be wary of Planeptune._ That's all. I'm outta here." Not waiting, or caring, for a reply, the girl put her handheld away and walked down the pitch black path.

The second command required that she had Chika's cooperation since only the oracle had root access to the sharicite. She didn't know yet how she would clear the prerequisite to execute the second command but the chances were high that she would have help from Pyraba. She remembered the day she had been _called._

_She had grown restless over the past few days. A voice had been haunting her dreams, showing her an image of herself as she materialized in Celestia. But it wasn't truly **her**, it was the one that would succeed her. Another goddess._

_Ignoring the dreams, she still knew that her time was already up, she grew ever more restless with each passing day. Unable to properly sleep, all the food and drink she consumed had no taste. No matter how many things she touched, everything felt the same. Her ability to feel pain and pleasure was waning rapidly. She wasn't physically dying, but she was no longer truly **alive**._

_Two months after the dreams had first started, she could no longer do anything but lay depressed in her bed. She had been so pitiful that even Chika begged her under tears to go and follow the calling as it was simply how the world worked. Four days later, she was suddenly no longer in her bed the next morning. Taking a secret passage in the basement of the castle, she had left in the middle of the night, without saying goodbye to anyone._

_The stairs took her down further and further into the very bones of the lands. And she arrived at a primitive transportation system. A boat on a river. Sitting inside, she waited for hours before she finally saw where she was going. A massive city, dark and ominous, stood tall before her._

_The boat, seemingly a will of its own, drifted through a hidden cave, making port deep below the castle that towered over the black city, at least ten times as massive as the Leanbox castle. A single woman was awaiting her, long, flowing black robes on her well shaped body._

_Taking her hand, the woman led her down another set of stairs that lasted seemingly forever. A massive gate of black energy stood before her, complete emptiness beyond. Feeling the woman's hands on her cheeks, Vert was shocked that she could actually feel how cold her hands were. Her sense of feeling had returned for just that moment._

_Their lips connected and a few words were flowing through her mind. "**Rest well, Goddess.**" Her memories ended there._

With her resurrection, she had noticed a lot of knowledge she didn't possess before. The name of the dark city, Pyraba, and the ruler of the massive castle, Arfoire. It was her who called a goddess when a new one was about to emerge. And her call could not be resisted forever. She knew of many other things now, such as who was important in Pyraba, many of their laws and their etiquette.

That was how she knew someone from down there was helping her. Pyraba wasn't just a hidden capital or a hideout for the evil and disturbed. It was so much more than that. For all the light the surface and their goddesses created, Pyraba alone was their massive shadow, containing those people that sought to run wild on the surface with its laws and powerful ruler.

Returning to her room, she found Chika to be still asleep. Putting the injection pistol on her neck, Vert pulled the trigger. It was painless and silent. Chika kept sleeping, the bullet liquified by the injection and already assimilated with her blood and bones.

Destroying the pistol with an energy blast contained within her hand, Vert checked on the twins she was keeping prisoner. Activating the camera in their room remotely, she only needed two seconds before she input the off command. It just wasn't her thing.

In that very same room, Ram was sitting behind Rom, hugging her from behind and nibbling on her ear. Enjoying the comfortable bed, both of them had just transformed again after staying in their human forms for a few hours. Ram had gotten bored and Rom had just finished looking through a thick picture book.

A tiny moan escaping the younger sister, Ram let up and smiled wide. "Does it feel good?" With Mina and their older sister at the other end of the world, they didn't have to worry about being caught. Their _incident_ during Planeptune imprisonment had kindled Ram's interest in trying these things out.

"It tickles... but I like it." Turning her head a bit, Rom kissed her sister on the cheek, a faint blush around her nose.

"Let's try real kissing." Things weren't exciting enough for Ram like this. It was fun to tease her sister a bit but she wanted more.

"Sis and Mina will be angry..." Rom was a little worried about those two being really angry and scolding them a lot.

"All the more reason to do it!" Smirking, Ram got up and crawled around her sister, kneeling in front of her. "I'll use my tongue, okay?" Putting her hands against Rom's shoulders, the older sister pushed her younger sibling down on her back, crawling on top of her. Moving her hands over her sister's chest, Ram grinned. "It's much better to do this transformed." It wasn't much, but both of them gained a little bit of bust size in their goddess form.

Pressing her hands against Rom's small chest, Ram got a little excited. It must be a lot of fun to do that with someone like Vert. If her little sister felt this good, someone with bigger breasts must feel even better.

Panting a little, Rom blushed some more before she grabbed her older sister's wrist. "Didn't you want to kiss?"

Licking her lips, Rom bent down, a quick smack on her sister's lips the prelude to what she wanted to do. "What do I taste like? Adults always say funny stuff like that."

Thinking about it for a moment, Rom shook her head. "That wasn't enough to tell." She enjoyed doing these lewd things with Ram. There was nobody else around that she could do them with and she did love Ram more than anyone else in the world, Blanc following right after her.

Staying down, their faces so close that they could feel each others hot breath on their skin, Ram gave her sister another quick smack. And a third, fourth and fifth one. Only when Rom laid her arms around her sister's neck did she commit to a lingering kiss.

The sensation of their lips meeting each other, drips of saliva being exchanged, Ram instinctively closed her eyes, as did Rom. Quickly breaking away, only to continue where they had left off, both of them only stopped to breathe. After a minute had passed, their lips glistening wet with each others saliva, Ram broke off for good, raising her head a little. "Kissing is really, really fun..." She didn't understand why Mina wanted to keep them away from it. If it felt this good, what harm was there in doing it?

Nodding twice, Rom licked over her lips. "A bit like strawberry. Or cherry." Smiling, the blush on her face intensified. "I need to try again..." She didn't have to pull on her sister at all, Ram returned to her original position willingly.

Their kiss started in the same way, a quick series of brief smacks with smiles and giggling in-between, both of them looking at each other with starry eyes. This time it was Ram who initiated the kiss. Losing herself just a little bit in what she was doing, she accidentally drooled on Rom's chin, who didn't seem to mind at all. Completely ignoring their need to breathe, the sisters separated after about thirty seconds, heavily panting, gasping for air, only to return to kissing, wilder and unrestrained than before.

"I love you so much, Ram." The younger sister had never felt this good. Even when they were playing games with Blanc, something they really loved to do, she didn't feel anything like this. Her whole body was tingling pleasantly and she just wanted to be even closer to her sister.

"I love you even more, Rom." It was the same for the older sister. But she gave in to her desire, her divinity suit disappearing in a flash, her naked body within her sister's reach. "Touch me... anywhere..." She didn't know **that** much about how adults enjoyed themselves, but she did know that breasts and between her legs were the important bits.

Imitating her sister, Rom let her suit disappear, the sudden exposure of air to her whole body sending a shiver down her back. "Can we get under the comforter?"

While Ram crawled backward and Rom moved up a little to rest her head on the pillows, her older sister suddenly covered her with the comforter, their naked bodies rubbing against each other. "You burning up, Ram."

"It's your fault... I couldn't stop kissing you." Poking her head out of the comforter and pulling it back just enough so that they were only covered from the neck down, Ram laid next to her sister, searching for her hand under the thick blanket.

"Don't copy that soldier..." Rom pouted a little, recognizing that very line as something a soldier had said to her partner. Ram's hand found her's, and their fingers intervened, locked with each other. "But I still love you, Ram."

"I don't care what Mina and sis say, this feels so great, I wanna do it every day. It's much better than drawing in Sis' books or playing air-tag." Snuggling up to her sister, Ram moved her right leg between Rom's, using her own foot to play with those of her sister.

"What else do adults do?" Rom wasn't quite as knowledgeable about these things as Ram.

Sliding her free hand over Rom's naked stomach, up to her small breasts, she rubbed over them, poking her nipples with her index finger, the blue haired candidate started moaning a few seconds in, her bright pink nipples stiffening under her sister's touch.

Reaching with her free hand to return the pleasure, Rom was suddenly startled by someone knocking on the door, quickly pulling her sister close, hugging her as tightly as she could. She was suddenly extremely embarrassed.

"It's time for lunch." They didn't recognize the voice. "We're coming in."

Switching to their human forms, Ram and Rom jumped out of bed. Ram's hair was all messy and Rom tried to fix it, but the door already opened.

Two soldiers brought in a small food trolley and table with two chairs. Vert's orders. "The chef would like to know if there is anything specific you would like for dinner. He wanted to mention that he does not know much about Lowee cuisine, so requests unique to the northern lands will be difficult." Giving the twins a closer look, they were sweating and fidgeting around. "Are you two feeling sick? You're sweating badly."

"We're fine. We don't need any special food." Ram just wanted them to leave so she could calm down. Now that she saw the food she **was** feeling quite hungry. But she would definitely continue what they had been doing later. She wanted to kiss and touch Rom a lot more.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Returning home, Mina quickly excused herself, eager to experiment with her SES, while Blanc found that Vert had kidnapped a soldier and was talking to her. The soldier sprang up and stood at attention when she noticed that Vert's gaze shifted to the approaching White Heart. "L-Lady Blanc, I-I was just-"

"Spare me the excuses. Go back to your post." She wasn't in the mood to deal with this. "You're incorrigible, Vert. That's the **second** guard you've gotten into trouble." Blanc could not be truly mad at her. Not when she looked so happy to see her. Like a pet that had been left at home alone and was jumping with joy to see her owner. Blanc suddenly felt incredibly bad for making that analogy.

The guard had ran off and Blanc sat down, going back to her human form. "Are you that bored that you must seduce the guards into talking to you? I was only gone for a few hours."

"Is that jealousy I detect? I feel flattered." Vert was not above teasing Blanc, now that she was aware of the mutual feelings they shared. She only had to watch out that she didn't go too far. If she made Blanc fall completely in love with her, it was her best chance to get free and take back Leanbox. It was not even _selling_ herself, since she did like Blanc. It was the perfect ploy.

Averting her eyes slightly, Blanc remembered that she still had to take care of Vert's divinity suppressors, DS for short. "Did they bring the accessories?"

"I asked them if they had anything in white since black doesn't suit me." Vert made Blanc cringe again. "But they ignored me and left them on your desk. The guards kept me away from there, don't worry."

"I'm not worried about you spying at the moment. You can't even go back to your own country right now anyway." Getting up, she noticed how sad Vert looked upon hearing her say that so nonchalantly. "My bad." Her calm voice cracked a little. She wasn't used to this at all. How many centuries had she lived, ruled, fought, without ever having to deal with being in love? And of **all** the people it could have happened with, it was Vert. If this ever got out to the other nations, they would have a big laugh.

Walking over to her desk, Blanc picked up the items. Two bracelets, anklets and a new choker. Inspecting them, not that she didn't trust her guards to do their job, she suddenly felt two very soft and big things push against the back of her head. "Vert... you know..." There was a pitch black shadow covering Blanc's face.

But it vanished the moment she felt two long and slender arms reach past her shoulders, touching Blanc's hands. "I know you didn't mean it. You'll get rid of that imposter for me, right?" She felt a little like a manipulative queen, trying to get her king to do something.

Blanc's sudden wave of rage turned into embarrassment and sympathy. It must be hard for Vert, who loved her people so much that she had, at first, sold her affection, dignity and pride in an attempt to get back to them, to see someone stealing her country. "We'll see. Leanbox is still the enemy. I don't plan on letting them run wild."

Holding onto the much shorter girl, Vert felt surprisingly good, despite what they were talking about. Blanc was short, no chest to speak of and had big anger issues, but she was also proud, incredibly cute, strong and determined. Despite her sisters being captured, she didn't hole herself up inside her room and get depressed.

Forcing Vert off by taking a step back, Blanc first grabbed her right wrist, then her left, putting the bracelets on. Taking the anklets, Blanc knelt. "You'll have to take your boots off carefully when you go to sleep so they don't get stuck in the anklets."

"Will you take them off for me then?" Trying her most seductive voice, she was immediately shot down.

"You won't share my room this time. You'll be staying in a guest room, one floor below, next to Mina's room." She absolutely would not be able to handle Vert sleeping right next to her like this. Her heart would jump out her chest for sure.

Taking the choker, she faced Vert, who stood almost 20 centimeters taller than her. Much to Blanc's annoyance, her face was on the exact level as the green goddess' breasts. Trying to reach up and place the choker, tip-toeing, Blanc lost balance and fell forward. Her chin forced up, she instinctively put her arms around Vert, who looked very entertained and taken by the sudden embrace. "My, how bold you are, Blanc." Looking down at her face, a few centimeters between them, Blanc's head was resting comfortably on Vert's enormous breasts. Putting her own arms around Blanc's shoulders, touching her back, Vert didn't mind this kind of thing at all.

"Stupid... let me go! I didn't mean to..." Her heart was beating so hard that it hurt. And it didn't help that she felt incredibly embarrassed. It **was** very comfortable, and soft, and Vert smelled so good that- No, no, she couldn't give in like that.

Pushing Vert away, Blanc was breathing heavily, putting a hand against her own chest, trying to calm down. That had been **really** close. A bit longer and she might have tried to kiss her. "Sit down somewhere." Assuming she would sit right there, at her desk, she was even more embarrassed when Vert walked all the way over to her bed and sat down on it, like she was waiting for Blanc to join her.

Taking the choker with her, Blanc walked over to Vert and unlocked the old one. After the old one came off, she put on a new one that was synchronized with the other parts and stronger. "Done. They can be unlocked remotely, I just have to give the command. It will work as long as you're inside the capital." Blanc had learned from the last attack. Minor alterations like this were an easy task for the proud technicians of Lowee.

Putting her arms around Blanc again, she pulled her closer. If she sat and Blanc stood, they were of roughly the same height. Seeing into her eyes face to face, Vert tried to re-initiate the mood from before. "I heard you were really sad when I was missing."

"Who told you such a thing?" Trying to feign ignorance, Blanc was doing a very poor job at it.

"The guards. And not just that one. They said they were really grateful I came back since you could really use the company." Getting even closer, Vert's eyes narrowed slightly, with a seductive smile around her lips. "I don't mind keeping you company at all. At night, too."

"Stop trying to seduce me!" Blanc tried to get away from Vert, blushing furiously, but failed. She wasn't able to gather any real strength to break free.

"I know how you feel about me Blanc. I know this must sound very odd coming from me, but I am happy about your feelings. We have a rough past but I am sure we can work things out."

This time, she had enough strength to get free. And her mood was completely ruined. "Don't go assuming things about my feelings." Whistling, the same guard from before came running into the room, now subject to Blanc's harsh glare. "Show Green Heart to her room." Just standing there and watching the soldier remain still, Blanc got even angrier. "What are you waiting for? **Now**."

A minute later, as they passed stairs, Vert talked to herself a little. "I guess I pushed too hard."

"Lady Blanc is very proud. And Lowee is going through some very difficult times right now. She will calm down soon."

"How long have you served in the Lowee royal guard?" Vert was always amused by the humans thinking they truly knew their goddesses.

"Six years. I was promoted when I was twenty, top of my class at the academy, too."

"I've known Blanc for over five hundred years and I still cannot tell when I am pushing her too much." Vert wondered if things would be different if she hadn't mocked Blanc about her looks for centuries. She liked them **now**, but just a week ago she would never have thought that she might come to like her like this. Maybe it was the war time that made her throw herself into things like this. Even as a goddess, any day could be her last. It only needed another attack like Neptune's.

"This is your room. You're free to explore most of the top five floors but all military rooms are off-limits and the guards will turn you away."

"What about Blanc's quarters?" She wouldn't go back right **now**, but she definitely wanted to see her before the night.

"Lady Blanc didn't say anything but I assume her guards will know more. I'm usually assigned to Lady Mina's quarters." The soldier pointed to a room about a dozen meters down the hall. "I'll be there if you need something."

At least she wasn't completely confined to Blanc's quarters anymore. Even though she would have preferred to spend time with the short goddess instead of being able to wander around. Entering her room, Vert decided to take a much needed bath before going back.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Another soldier was down for the count, hitting the ground hard. Sitting around a long table, Marvelous, already being called Marvey, and the young Falcom were sitting on the long table with a handful of soldiers and Nisa. "And when she woke up, she had been loaded onto a ship. I told her that sleeping in one of those massive crates was a bad idea, even though the Inn was expensive! She panicked, ran around and not even thirty minutes later was shipwrecked on a small island just north of Leanbox central harbor."

The entire table started laughing and Marvel laughed the loudest, chugging down another drink. She had no trouble drinking alcohol. She had undergone a lot of training regarding that in the past. Nisa on the other hand was laying half on the table, complaining and whining about how big breasts are totally useless to no one in particular. A good dozen of the soldiers had passed out already. Falcom and Marvel had immediately hit it off and became best friends in the blink of an eye. She reminded the redheaded girl a lot of her older sister in her honesty.

"Marvey, lemme touch your boobs." Falcom had a little too much to drink at this point. "They're **huge**, I wanna know what they feel like."

Grinning, Marvel got up, needed a second to find her balance despite only being very slightly tipsy, and walked over to Falcom, hugging her from behind, pressing her big breasts against the back of her head. "How's that?"

"So soft I wanna use it as pillow." Leaning back, Falcom fell off the bench when Marvel stepped away. The orange haired girl caught her with her arms, Falcom's legs hanging over the bench, Marvel's arms going under her own. "Wow, nice catch."

"I really like you Falcom, but shouldn't you introduce me to your leader now? That's why we're here, right?" After talking about their fighting capabilities and intentions, Marvel decided to throw her lot in with the Planeptune resistance. In exchange for helping them, Planeptune, once under Nepgear's rule, would support GAME with its full political power.

"Oh yeah, sure." Getting up, swaying, Falcom's world turned almost upside down. Marvel helped her stand. "How come **you're** fine?! You drank even more than I did! Is it those damn boobs of yours? Are they storing all the alcohol?!" Falcom was way past being able to properly introduced someone.

"Jeez, this isn't what I hand in mind when I gave you control over the troops!" Nepgear was already standing there, with Histoire by her side, looking a bit angry. Noticing her voice, several soldiers tried to get up but instead fell over or barely managed to stand upright. Nisa didn't even notice, she was too smashed.

"Hey, speak of the devil. Or goddess. Er, you know what I mean, don't you Marvey?" Falcom covered her mouth to hide a burp and tried to stand straight. "This is our kind and beautiful leader, Purple Sister, goddess of, I mean, **future** goddess of Planeptune!" Introducing her leader with a lot of slurring and two hiccups, Falcom sat back down, not feeling too good.

Walking over to Nepgear and bowing before her, Marvel lowered her voice. "Should we take this somewhere else. Everyone is really drunk. I didn't think they would let loose this much." It was her suggestion that they could get together at a table and exchange stories after they had dealt with the formalities. Falcom and the soldiers seemed to enjoy that idea but it had gotten quite out of hand.

"That would be most wise." Histoire was planning on scolding everyone, **especially** Falcom, at a later point. Taking the leader of GAME away, Histoire had already heard all the details from a soldier that was tasked by Falcom to relay the information. "Your group currently includes two hundred armed people, two co-leaders and yourself. As I've been told, the blue haired lady that is... incapacitated at the table, does not belong with your organization?"

"I'm hoping that she, and her friend, will join once we make it to Atelier and find a healing elixir for her injured friend. Both of them have been hunted by Leanbox soldiers, which should give them plenty of initiative to join." Marvel had no trouble switching modes from friendly with equals to serious while talking to a higher ranking person.

"And you are planning to travel to Atelier to bring the merchants to your side?" Nepgear didn't know much about politics but she was aware of the town and it's economic influence. A lot of money, favors and goods passed through there, especially in war time. It was currently under Lowee control.

"Yes. They would stand to profit a lot from supplying GAME and, in extension, your resistance with goods. If you would take the ruling seat of this country with their help, they will surely be able to open trade with all of Planeptune, which they currently can only do sparsely."

"You put a lot of thought into this. I got the impression that you were a very spur of the moment person, seeing you party with Falcom like this." Nepgear was amazed that the big breasted girl actually thought about things that far ahead.

"It's hard work to lead a resistance. The war only makes everyone suffer." She had lost many friends to wars. They were hired by the nations, deployed and often never returned. "GAME is working to stop it. Even if we have to contradict ourselves and resort to force to make the nations be peaceful to each other. Planeptune would be a great point to start, due to their extremely bad public image."

"What do people think of us in the other nations?" Nepgear was both curious and scared to find out.

"It's a land of devils. Purple Heart specifically is seen as the devil herself. After her attempt to blow the capital city of Lowee off the maps, twice, everyone is scared of her." GAME had its ears everywhere. They didn't have the means to peep on people like Lastation did, but word of mouth went a long way in war time.

Clearing her throat, Histoire tried to bring them back on topic. "We cannot formally announce an alliance of Planeptune with GAME until after Lady Nepgear is inaugurated formally as the ruling goddess. However, I would like to request your assistance in achieving this. It would foster lasting peace, especially between Planeptune and Lastation, if Lady Nepgear were to ascend to rule." As polite as ever, Histoire watched Marvel hold out her hand to Nepgear.

"GAME helps those that want to fight the war. Once Nisa's friend has returned to health, we will move our base of operations here, assisting the resistance. This will take at least one day, possibly two, depending on how things go in Atelier and what level of elixir we're able to purchase."

"I will have a legal document detailing your assistance and our support in ending the war ready upon your return." Histoire looked to Nepgear, who took Marvel's hand.

"I'm looking forward to working with you, Marvelous." Nepgear was very glad to have found a reliable sounding ally in a situation like this. If only Uni hadn't refused her. But she didn't need her anymore now.

"Please, my friends call me Marvey. And I consider all my allies my friends. I will hurry to Atelier right away then. I know the way down to the tunnels. Could you call ahead and let your soldiers know to let us through?" Letting go of Nepgear's hand, Marvel waited for an answer.

"I shall inform them since our captain is currently..." Histoire looked to the table, where Falcom had first thrown up into the nearby river and then passed out on on the bench."Is currently not available. I wish you luck on your expedition to Atelier."

"Thanks. I'll be going then." Returning to the table and picking up Nisa, who was very light, Marvel said her goodbyes to the soldiers, who were very much aware that the moment those two left, Histoire and Lady Nepgear would scold the hell out of them.

"Do you think we can trust them?" Nepgear was just a little bit concerned.

"We would do well to be on our guard, but they could turn out to be very helpful. The war has indeed gone on far too long." Histoire felt that there was something sinister at work. She just couldn't pinpoint quite what.

=== END OF LINE ===


	13. Maintenance

**Follow me on twitter for updates on what I'm working on. ( And for a lot of randomness ) twitter/KuuTenko**

**Overheat**

_Execute: 1111101011_

**Maintenance**

The extraction had been much more difficult, time intensive and painful that she had expected. Landing in intensive care for several hours after the process, she had been hooked up to various tubes and measurement devices. But even through the painkillers dulling effect, her mind was sharp and clear for the first time in days.

She had mistreated Nepgear, who had promptly vanished from prison after that. She needed to rectify that mistake and bring her sister back, to where she belonged, the side of Planeptune's goddess. Turning over and looking at the food that was waiting on a tray next to her bed, Purple Heart's face distorted in disgust and she was about to hit the tray with her hand. Of all the things, why eggplants? They didn't even grow them in Planeptune anymore, on her orders, so that meant they had imported them.

Thinking about that, she was fully aware how much money the war was costing all the nations. New technology, materials, training of soldiers and provisioning of the same, weapons... at the end of the war, the economy would be in ruins if the war continued much longer. But thankfully, her weapon was just about ready. And it didn't matter what Lastation, Lowee or Leanbox had up their sleeve. Under the power of two goddesses and the powerful Planeptune weapons, they would stand helpless.

Simply subjugating them was not an option. She had to get rid of the goddesses and their candidates, all of them. Without that, the people would cling to the foolish hope that there was a chance for liberation from her rule. There was never any hope for lasting peace in Gamindustri without taking measures like that.

Something about that thought didn't sit well with her. When exactly had she made this realization? And based on what? Of course, at first glance it seemed like an obvious deduction to make, but she had lived for sixteen hundred years. Why now? What had changed so much since the last war that she thought about it this way? She wasn't doubting that it was the **right** way of thinking. It was the truth. No matter how strict or lenient, how peace willing and supportive Planeptune had been, war broke out every few decades or centuries.

She couldn't find any obvious gaps in her memory. Was she thinking too hard about it? In any case, she had two things she absolutely needed to do. First, get Nepgear back and second, destroy Lowee. Their large military force could become a big problem if they decided to invade. Unleashing her pet goddess weapon on Planeptune to kill the Lowee troops would end in a much higher death toll of civilians than she was planning to write off as justifiable.

But getting Nepgear back had to be her top priority. In the event that anything should happen to her, Nepgear had to take over and lead Planeptune to victory. There was the issue of inauguration, as well. If Lastation had the means to quickly replace a goddess, maybe she should turn her attention east, and not north. But as things stood, Lowee and Lastation would aid each other if she attacked. Not even Planeptune was powerful enough to split their forces in half. They would be obliterated on both fronts.

Her thoughts shifted to the nation in the south. Why did Vert want with Lowee''s White Sisters? There were rumors about human experiments going on in that nation, but there was no proof. Was there a relation between Vert's capture of the twins and the experiments?

Just laying there and thinking about it wouldn't get her anywhere, Purple Heart understood that much. Closing her eyes, resting her mind, Planeptune's ruler tried to relax and let matters be until a later time. Recovering from the extraction was her prime priority right now.

Still, the sudden stalemate bothered her. It seemed like someone powerful was pulling strings behind the scenes. It was too unnatural for Lowee, Lastation and Leanbox to suddenly cease hostilities against each other, no matter how much of a threat Planeptune posed.

"_You are not wrong about that._" A snicker in the back of her head.

Purple Heart's eyes flew wide open and she drew her sword, searching every corner of the room for the intruder. Did she imagine it? Was she still under the influence of the other goddess?

"_Watch out for Plutia, less you get burned by your little pet. A doll only remains a doll to the day it gains a soul._" The snicker echoed and lingered inside her mind.

"What are you talking about?"

The snicker transcended into loud laughing that rang inside her head. "_What a dim-witted fool you are! Burn, crash and take your nation with you!_" As abruptly as the voice had come, it vanished, leaving behind a confused goddess.

=== OVERHEAT ===

Spending her time exploring the top floors of Lowee's castle, Vert found that the guards were very forthcoming with information, so much even that it seemed slightly suspicious. But none of them seemed to have any ulterior motive. Nobody asked her any questions about Leanbox other than what the food was like and how warm or cold it got. Trivial information they could have gotten from anyone living in the south.

Slowly closing the large door behind her, quietly, Vert's face bore a slightly devious smile. She had talked the guards into _taking a quick break_ so she could slip into Blanc's quarters. Mina was with Blanc, both of them standing at the goddess' desk, exchanging papers and dire looks.

"We have to raise the taxes for a while, Lady Blanc. We have almost depleted the reparation fund. The only alternative would be to borrow money from Lastation. I could ask Kei-"

"No, we'll raise the taxes. I made clear that Lowee and Lastation are only temporary allies. We can't just go back on that and ask Uni for money. We would look like gigantic hypocrites."

Mina turned her head slightly and noticed Vert, who was just standing her, a single finger raised to her lips, staying way out of hearing range, painfully aware that Mina would chase her out if she caught word of what they were talking about. Sighing, she ignored Vert and continued her report.

"On the matter of Planeptune, there are reports that the civil war has not broken out into violent conflicts just yet. We have also information from a credible source that mercenary groups are on the rise. Soldiers from all four nations are deserting to make a living in the private sector. The war is turning into an economic disaster."

"Do you think Vert prefers long hair? Maybe I should try to grow mine out..."

"Lady Blanc." Mina rolled eyes but could not resist a small smile. Her master was so obviously in love, even the troops already knew. And after everything that had happened to her, Mina really wished for her goddess to find some happiness, no matter how small or fleeting.

"I know. Planeptune is behaving, for now." It was slightly difficult for her to focus. She had chased Vert out of her room, for now and the night, so she could keep a clear head. That decision had backfired intensely, like almost any decision she had made regarding Vert. "Anything else?" It had been a stressful three hours of report after report. "If not, I'm going to take a bath."

"That was all. And I think you should keep your hair as is. What do **you** think, Lady Vert?" Raising her voice for the last part, Mina turned around and looked towards the table near the windows, where Vert was sitting and patiently waiting for them to finish.

Blanc immediately whirled around, a fierce blush on her face. "V-Vert? What are you dong here? What are the guards-" Blanc sighed. "Oh fuck it, why am I even bothering to put up guards." Looking to Mina, who was smiling knowingly, Blanc felt like punching her. "Stop smiling, Mina."

"Please do not let her sleep here, Lady Blanc. Just having her around is a security nightmare, I can do without having to worry about your safety at night."

"Do I seem that dangerous to you?" Suddenly peeking over Mina's shoulder, Vert had caught most of what she had said. "I behaved and kept out of reach instead of trying to spy on you, didn't I?"

"You are well aware of what I meant." Mina didn't feel like endlessly arguing semantics with Vert at the time. "I'll be in my room."

Vert was slowly circling around Blanc, a big smile on her face. "Would you let me join you for dinner?" Coming to a stop behind Blanc, she slightly bent forward and hugged the white goddess from behind. "Am I being too friendly?"

"Yeah." Blanc's voice was a little unsteady. Two weeks ago, Vert had hated her guts. Now she was hugging her without warning. She was going to die of a heart attack before the war ended if this kept up.

Hearing that, Vert let go of the short girl and walked back to the table. "The more time I spend with you, the more I hesitate to go back to war. Or at least, to war with Lowee. I still have my... differences with Lastation and Planeptune cannot be forgiven for what they have done."

"If there was an alternative, I'd like to hear it. An alternative that doesn't result in another damn war fifty years or a century down the line." Blanc was sick of going to war time and time again. She would ensure that this time was the last one.

Vert remained silent and picked up a cup, slowly turning it in her hands. "We are all bound by our duties and obligations to the people. If not for that, I would happily just stay with you here forever." She could almost hear the steam gushing from Blanc's head. "Maybe **forever** is a little too strong a word. A very long time, perhaps?" Putting the cup down and turning around, she only just caught a glimpse of a pillow before it hit her in the face.

"Control yourself, dammit!" Blanc was shouting and unable to keep any sort of composure. Grabbing a second pillow from her bed and throwing at at Vert, she missed and destroyed one of the windows. Within seconds, four guards came rushing into the room, finding an overly excited White Heart throwing a third pillow a Vert, who was now rushing towards the soldiers and using them as shields. "Vert! Face me like a goddess!"

The next pillow hit one of the soldiers in the face and made her stumble backwards, fall over the covering Vert and land on the ground. A fourth and fifth pillow flew through the air like rockets before the whole ordeal was put to an end by Mina, who ripped the last pillow from Blanc's hands after she had devastated most of her guards. "Lady Blanc, please, not in front of the guards." Mina was struggling to keep the pillow from Blanc, who was behaving worse than a teenage girl throwing a tantrum.

"But Vert-" Blanc closed her mouth, blushed furiously and turned away. "Vert! Backroom! Get your damn ass over here!" Marching off, Blanc wanted to claw her own face off after embarrassing herself in front of her guards like that. Being around Vert turned her into a hormonal mess.

Vert, helping one of the guards up with a smile and instantly taking her heart by storm, was almost crumbling under Mina's harsh glare. "Please refrain from causing another scene like this." Sighing, she grabbed the blonde by her left arm. "Wait. I appreciate that you seem to be genuinely interested in Lady Blanc but please keep your own and her position in mind. You are not average people."

"I will keep that in mind." Vert didn't struggle and calmly waited for Mina to let go. The oracle shooed the guards out of the room and reminded them not to mention what they had seen to anyone, but there was no doubt that within a day, the entire castle was going to know about their goddess cute outburst.

Blanc slammed the door shut the moment Vert walked into the small, by the standards of being a goddess, library that was exclusively used by Lowee's ruler. "If you are really angry with me, I will apologize." Vert found her way to a chair and sat on it, looking at Blanc, who was looking dangerously close to exploding again.

But instead of getting fired up even more, Blanc took a few, shaky, deep breaths and calmed down until she could safely transform back and look at Vert. "I like you, Vert. In a... romantic way."

"I know." The happy smile she was showing pissed off the white goddess.

"Don't act so smug about it!"

"I know, but it makes me really happy that you told me like this." Being quiet for a few seconds, Vert tilted her head a little. "Anything else?"

"Vert!" Getting angry again, Blanc clenched a fist.

"Yes, yes. I am still testing how much I can tease you without going too far." Standing up, Vert walked towards Blanc, taking her into her arms. "I would like to say I felt about you that way first, but I first noticed feelings of attraction the day you threw me into solitary confinement. Teasing you is just one way to express my interest."

"Find another way." Blanc mumbled and gently jabbed Vert's side. "You know I have a temper."

"I don't mind your temper. I think it is part of your charm." Letting go of Blanc and returning to her chair, Vert was ready to compromise. "Say you will go out with me and I will dial back the teasing to a bare minimum."

"You know I can't do that! We're **at war**, Vert. What would the people think?"

"They will be the last of your worries. They remember me as the one that saved both the town and your life. The guards in the castle all know that we're interested in each other and many of them think it is simply hilarious. I'm sure that needs no further explanation. If the people are your only reason that you're holding back your feelings, you should have a little more trust in them."

"They think its hilarious?" Blanc twitched. "Why?" A second twitch. "Because you're so tall, and get even taller when you transform, and I'm short, and barely grow two centimeters in goddess form? Because you're carrying around damn mountains on your chest and I'm not?!"

"Those would probably be the main reasons. That we very much used to hate each others guts probably factors in as well."

"One of the books I read said _War changes people_." Blanc had finally calmed down completely and took off her hat, putting it on a small reading table.

"I think, while the war has played a role in it, that we simply needed to get to know each other. What did I know about you, or you about me, prior to me becoming your prisoner?" Vert slightly shook her head. "I never knew how cute you are when you're at peace or reading."

"You'd not rather have someone that looks like Black Heart or Purple Heart?" Blanc was self-conscious about her looks when she was with Vert. It wasn't much of an issue when she was alone, with Mina or her sisters, but Vert... she was tall, busty and had long, beautiful hair. She was the very opposite of that.

"No." Vert didn't need even a second to think about that. "I like you exactly the way you are. I admit, I do prefer your body as White Heart by a small margin." Vert would not reveal whether she was teasing her or not and her smile gave away nothing.

"You think I am cute when I read?" Blanc couldn't quite make sense of that.

"Absolutely." Vert started to swoon a little. "When you pout, too. Just like that." Vert had to try hard to not laugh out loud. "Oh Blanc, I am not making fun of you. And yes, it does show on your face that you think I am doing so."

Pouting, Blanc turned around and grabbed a book. "I don't believe you." Flipping pages randomly, Blanc stopped when she was halfway through, Blanc's large breasts pushing against the back of her head. "If you're trying to tick me off, its working." Blanc twitched twice before Vert's right hand touched her cheek.

"Imagine them as your own, private cushions that nobody else is ever allowed to touch." Resting her chin on Blanc's head, Vert poked the short girl's cheek. "I am not trying to tease you or anything. I'm proud of my body and you should be equally proud of yours. I cannot think of a single person I've ever met that is as cute as you are. When you're not rampaging." Just as Blanc pinched her hand, Vert groaned. "Yes, that last part was teasing you."

Neither of them was especially startled when someone knocked on the door twice and announced that she was coming in. Staying put, Vert kept Blanc as she was. Mina was fully aware of what was happening and Blanc needed to learn how to control her embarrassment.

"There is a problem." Mina was oddly calm about it. Adjusting her glasses she let out a heavy sigh. "It appears we have a rampant case of loose mouth among our soldiers. To make matters worse, as these things tend to escalate, there is now a rumor running through the entire capital city that Lady Vert will soon become officially become part of Lowee."

"What?!" Blanc freed herself from Vert's embrace and walked up to Mina. "They think I'm going to marry Vert?!" She had trouble breathing. "How?! How the fuck did they end up with **that?!**"

"Considering that Lady Vert was seen rescuing citizen and saving your life, furthermore, that she has voluntarily returned and is staying at the castle, it is not surprising that this happened. Honestly, I expected this to happen sooner than later but not this soon." Mina looked to Vert, who was visibly happy with the situation. "Could you not look this happy, Lady Vert?"

Taking Blanc into her embrace again, Vert smiled at Mina. "I am imagining Blanc in a tux and its too adorable to not look happy."

"Stop being stupid, Vert." Blanc was genuinely angry now. "We can't have my people think I am marrying the ruler of Leanbox."

"Technically, it would be an union. Goddesses do not marry." Vert was teasing Blanc again but stopped when she was elbowed in the side by the short goddess. "Okay... no more.. teasing." Puffing and coughing, Vert stumbled backwards, her side hurting because of Blanc.

"Marriage, Union, whatever! I would..." Blanc was aware that she had to work on her temper. Saying _I would never marry her_ was not only false but would also unnecessarily hurt Vert. "I wouldn't do something like that in the middle of a war!"

"That is an additional basis to the rumor. People are saying that this would unite Leanbox and Lowee. Since we already have a ceasefire with Lastation, this would mean that Planeptune would be the sole aggressor standing against an alliance of three nations. The war would end. This is why this is a problem, and not just a small issue I could take care of myself." Mina sighed. "The people are right. This would be one way to possibly end the war. However, Lady Ram and Lady Rom are both prisoners of Leanbox and Lady Vert is not in control of her country right now. As you can see, this is quickly spinning out of control and evolving into a complex political issue."

"You cannot state that you reject the idea of an union for peace. You can also not say that Ram and Rom are being held captive in Leanbox, ruled by my predecessor. You **also** can't tell the people that you write at best mediocre novels." Vert didn't need her reflexes to avoid the book that came flying her way. She had preemptive taken cover. "I'll help you improve!" Blanc was about to grab a second book when Vert raised her hands, coming out of cover. "But in seriousness, the best move is no move in this situation. Whatever you tell your people will just make them unhappy. Their candidates abducted and held prisoner? Bad for morale and going to really make them hate Leanbox." Taking Blanc's hand and kneeling in front of her, Vert tried to disarm the situation a little. "And that wouldn't do, for your people to hate the people of your future wife."

"Vert!" Blanc blushed furiously, she had lost count of how many times that had been that day alone, and glared at the girl kneeling before her.

"Tell them you won't take the union for peace and they'll be asking why. Because I'm not only not in control of my own country, I'm not even in control of my powers." Smiling as sweet as she could, Vert added something else. "Or in control of my feelings and heart."

Mina was taking mental notes on what she would do the next time she saw Kei. Maybe she would, at a later time, take Lady Vert for a stroll and ask her for a bit of advice. It was clear that she was the one pushing this relationship between goddesses forward.

"Your personal feelings aside, an union would be a solution we should not disregard permanently. Lady Blanc, I know you feel that Lowee would not find peace unless it was the sole nation left. But with an union, Lowee and Leanbox would not be separate nations. Furthermore, I am not an advocate of mass murder."

"It isn't that easy." Vert stepped in before Blanc started defending herself. "What you're saying is mostly correct. What about the hatred Lastation and Leanbox hold for each other? There has been a lot of bloodshed."

"I was not considering a political union to be a valid option. If you decide on this, peace will be a byproduct, not the main reason, as much as I'd like those reasons to be reversed, I value Lady Blanc's happiness too high to force her into a life long partnership she doesn't want."

"Both of you, shut up." Blanc was getting a headache. She didn't like politics too much and this conversation was just oozing redundant statements and hypothetical questions and scenarios. "We're not going to tell the people anything. Vert remains by my side, powers sealed."

"What should I do about the rumors that are circulating?" Mina didn't want to take matters into her own hands. Not this time.

"Its true that Vert and I are... well... we're sort of..." Blanc whispered the remainder in such a quiet voice that Mina and Vert couldn't hear a single word of it. She had barely finished when Vert hugged her again. "Get off me!" Trying to wrestle free, Blanc, who could have easily thrown Vert all the way through the room, one or two walls and another room as she was right now, was not putting any real effort into it. Shoving Vert away, she watched Mina leave.

Her oracle was barely out the door when Blanc unleashed hell's fury. "Why would **I** wear the tux? You're the tall one! And stop complaining about my damn writing! And don't go making any stupid decisions like saying I'll...we will..." Blanc was turning bright red, it was about to become her regular state of being, and she couldn't say it.

"I'm really looking forward to eating dinner with you. Do you think Mina could join us? I'm starting to like her." Vert poked both of Blanc's cheeks for a few seconds. "And I think you'd look super cute in a tux or dress."

"I'm never going to get used to this." Blanc sighed with an empty expression. As if to distract her from emotional turmoil, her stomach growled loud enough to make Vert chuckle behind her back. "Vert!"

=== OVERHEAT ===

Noire felt a little bit lonely. IF had already left, a sphere no bigger than her own fist being her luggage, for the surface. Her mission was simple. Get within ten kilometers of the body and the sphere would automatically burst and release the _self_ of the replicated goddess, making her whole.

Sitting next to Magic at a grand table, shaped like a majestic U, with over three dozen others, Noire felt a strange sense of superiority to almost all of them. She wasn't just a goddess or Magic's companion. She was quick-witted, smart and when the need arose, devious and meticulous in the execution of her plans. Her name was only rarely whispered among the powerful people. No matter how quickly she rose through the ranks, she could not upset decades and centuries of success that some of the most powerful nobles sported.

Taking her chalice, filled with wine, she put it to her lips and enjoyed the rich and slightly sweet taste of the liquor. She was shorter than many, but her height betrayed her capability, as many had painfully found out. Noire was not yet at home among the vile and evil, but she had come to understand that Pyraba was not so much the hearth of evil but a cauldron that carefully regulated how much was allowed to spill.

Pyraba could not exist without the needs of the surface world, but similarly, the surface world would be flooded and devastated without the countless rules and laws of the dark capital. And not everyone was a morally dead villain only out for self enrichment.

Quietly eying the guests of the banquet, Noire wondered how many of them manufactured bootlegged goods that were smuggled into Lastation. Not that she would aim to stop them. Their very existence enforced a strict ethnic of producing only the highest quality goods herself. Seats changed a lot, with the exception of a select few. Magic, and Noire herself, remained seated in the center bottom part of the table, where they could see everyone and all could see them. A symbolic position of power.

The banquet had been going for two hours now and every single one of the guests had been personally vetted by Magic. They posed no danger to Noire, at least not of physical nature. Eating slowly and with the most graceful mannerism that she could express, Noire bit off a tiny piece of freshly baked bread. No matter what one would say about the dark court, their cuisine was unparalleled.

A blue haired woman that Noire had seen before changed seats with an elderly man, an important merchant, bringing her own golden chalice with her. Those were a sign of status. Starting at iron, then copper, silver, gold and finally platinum, they represented the social status at the dark court. Noire was holding merely the level of copper while Magic was the sole attendant to possess a platinum one.

Sitting next to Noire, the blue haired woman had a higher position of power and still would not turn to Noire or even look at her until Noire initiated contact. It was a way to show respect to Noire, despite her low rank.

"A peculiar attire. I have seen you before, so would you tell me your name?" Formal speech, while still somewhat alien to Noire, was a requirement at the banquet.

"I am Mages. You might have heard whispers of the Blue Reaper. That would be I." Waiting for Noire to take her chalice and drink, Mages imitated her, always a step behind. It took a long time to memorize all the rules at a banquet. "I would like to ask a favor of you."

"And you seek?" There were only two types of discussions at the banquet. Trades and Favors.

"Your aid when the time comes." Mages, despite her rank of owning a golden chalice, had a hard time getting into banquets as she was not affiliated with any major factor within Pyraba. Operating on her own and working with whoever paid her, she was not especially well liked.

"My aid? Are we speaking of aid here in Pyraba?" Noire picked up a small cube of cheese with a toothpick and put it in her mouth before she leaned against the back of her chair and looked to Mages from the corner of her eye. A sign that she was ready to listen and negotiate.

"I seek your aid as the ruler of Lastation. Someone of great interest to me is kept in your capital palace and I pursue her release when the time comes." Mages looked not at Noire but straight forward. When asking someone for a favor or making a trade proposition, it was part of the etiquette to remain a respectful level of distance, personally and emotionally.

"A political prisoner?" Noire kept her eyes on Mages, who was not as beautiful as Magic, not by a long shot, but she was very pretty nonetheless. Noire wondered how exactly she had gotten the title of Blue Reaper.

"A young girl that served as aide to inaugurate your sister. While not within my own power, I will be able to bring you someone that can teach you how to bypass the force that keeps your powers sealed." Mages had power and with power came influence. The lack of affiliation also came with a lack of obligations and sworn loyalty, which meant that she could go about her methods however she wanted.

The noise of the banquet made it impossible to understand one another without sitting right by their side. Magic was occupied dealing with an incredibly tall and muscular man who ran an empire of credit laundering and certainly not vile enough to sabotage Noire's business.

"I see. You would help me escape so I can release the girl that is being held at my sister's command." Noire contemplated the pros and cons of a deal like that. "Why is she being held?"

"She has the power to inaugurate a candidate without the formal training. Lowee and Planeptune will both have an interest in her if they discover her existence." Mages kept the fact that inauguration was just one of many abilities of a Lyrateil a secret. Noire had no need to know about that or the fact that Mages herself was a Lyrateil as well.

"What do you intend to do with her?" Noire couldn't unleash a potential danger to Lastation.

"I will take her to Pyraba, away from the hectic and brutal surface." Mages was right in calling it that. While assassinations were not uncommon in Pyraba, no large scale battles or mass murders ever happened. There were many punishments much worse than death down there and extremely few dared to challenge the nobles and their laws. Compared to the constant wars of the surface nations, Pyraba was a controlled and calm if treacherous and dangerous place to be.

"How soon could you put this plan into action?" Noire wanted to get back to Lastation. No matter how much she had come to like Magic, Pyraba would not run away, but the war was still raging on and Uni needed her.

"Tomorrow, at the earliest. Possibly the day after." Mages took her chalice and waited for Noire to follow. The sign of an established trade or favor. Drinking at the same time, Mages slowly got up, refilled Noire's chalice and left with her own. The seat was soon filled with others, some of them speaking to Noire, seeking her advice on the surface world and Lastation, others simply prying for information.

Noire finally had a window to escape. She would miss Magic but she still had her duties. And it was not like she couldn't return to this place whenever she wanted.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"Aren't you cold out there?" Chika was watching Vert from the comfortable warmth of the goddess' quarters.

"Chika, what happens when a goddess or candidate that has exceeded their natural lifespan is cut off from their sharicite?" Vert needed to know about this before making her move.

"It depends on how much share energy they have stored within their body. If they don't transform and conserve their energy, they might live for a few days." Stepping out and carrying a blanket, Chika put it over Vert's back, grabbing her arm and holding onto it. "Why do you ask? Is something wrong with the share energy flow?"

"No. But I was concerned that Ram might die if I cut her off from Lowee's sharicite." Vert didn't feel the need to hide her plan from Chika. She would have to tell her eventually anyway.

"Cut her off? Vert, what are you saying? I'm an oracle and I still can't cut a candidate's connection to their sharicite." Looking towards the distant north, across the ocean, Chika wondered how her colleagues were faring. Lowee and Lastation were cooperating with each other, which meant that Mina and Kei had teamed up. That was a very dangerous combination.

"You can't. But a Lyrateil can. They're maidens that have the ability to access and manipulate any sharicite in this world. They used one to inaugurate Black Sister and turn her into a goddess." She knew about them intuitively, even though she had never met one. It was part of the knowledge that Vert had gained when she was put to rest.

"Are you going to blackmail White Heart into accepting the cease fire?" Chika had no issue with using the White Sisters for something like that. Yellow Heart had suffered greatly at the hands of her scientists. In love and war, everything was fair.

"Much better. Just wait and you'll see." Chuckling, Vert turned slightly, kissing her oracle. "You'll see soon." Her second order. To disrupt Lowee's lineage. By removing one of the White Sisters from it, she would make any lasting peace between the nations impossible. But at the same time, Lowee could not move against Leanbox without challenging one of their former candidates at the same time. It didn't matter where Ram's allegiance actually laid. The soldiers and people wouldn't stand for it.

"I love it when you're being mysterious." Chika chuckled and licked her lips. She wanted another kiss but Vert had other plans.

Looking at the oracle, Vert got so close that she could lower her voice to a whisper and still have Chika listen to her without trouble. "Start showing both of them how Leanbox is run. Explain our great nation's strong points to them. Show them around. I know you can take care of them should they try to run. But don't hurt them, no matter what. They're our precious guests." Kissing her again to seal the deal, she really liked Chika. It was incredibly convenient that she was able to combine personal preference with work.

"I can see what you're planning now." Chika was amused by a strategy like that. It took much more effort than she would have seen as acceptable, but if her mistress succeeded, Lowee couldn't do a thing.

"Do well and maybe you won't ever need to go back to your quarters at night." Her expression smug, Vert stepped away, Chika walking with her, both of them headed for Vert's room.

"Did you take them from Planeptune for this reason?"

"Originally, I planned to simply keep them and manipulate Lowee through Blanc. But the shrimp is too stubborn to budge under the pressure. And don't you think they're very cute? It would be a shame to torture them and ruin their pretty faces."

"Cute? I don't know... they're both so short and flat." Chika's type was very much limited to just Vert.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Lately I've heard rumors that Planeptune is conduction experiments to clone goddesses. I hope that they didn't do anything to me while I was their prisoner." She had no memory of that time, and how could she? It wasn't really **her** who had been prisoner. But she knew that it had happened to her successor, it had been in the reports. And even if the other Vert showed up now, she could play her down as a clone that Planeptune had created. She would inquire about cutting the younger Vert off from Leanbox's sharicite with the Lyrateil when she arrived.

She didn't listen to Chika's rant about Planeptune and their underhanded means. Chika was hot, loyal and likable but she could be quite annoying as well when she got too worked up over something. It was best to simply ignore her whenever that happened. Waiting until she was finally done, Vert pulled her towards the bed. "I'll comb your hair. Sit." Searching through her desks for a comb, she was still getting used to these quarters. Technology had come a long way in the last seven hundred years.

"How is the artificial goddess program coming along, Chika?" Vert wasn't a fan of human experiments but a war was more than justifiable reason to conduct experiments like that. And the end justified the means, at least in war. In peace time, she would have never let a program like that go on.

"Stalled." Chika flinched a little when Vert took off her ribbon and a few hairs got stuck in it. The sensation of her beloved goddess touching her hair and slowly moving a large comb through it. "We can't resume without an actual goddess. I don't want to bore you with the technicalities."

"Please, I like it when you talk about nerdy stuff." But that wasn't all there was to it. Vert wanted to know if she could pull some strings to get the project going again, even without a goddess.

"Goddesses, Candidates and Oracles are all similar in that their basic physiology is fundamentally different from humans. We're, technically, made out of flesh and bones, like normal people, but we exist as part of the goddess system. If a human gets cut, they bleed and they need to heal. If we're about to get cut we instantly convert share energy into unstable matter and that is cut instead. It's a subconscious process that can't be turned off. Of course, that has limits, so we can get hurt – Anti-crystal weapons for example bypass this mechanism entirely, making us as vulnerable as humans. This process is largely dependent on our supply to share energy."

"How is that related to the project?" Vert changed her sitting position and kissed Chika on her right shoulder before she continued to do her hair.

"Getting there. All three types, goddesses, candidates and oracles, are able to convert share energy into different things. For one thing, cell regeneration and the power to transmute matter, namely, use our abilities, transform into goddess forms and so forth. Our ability to fly comes from that, too. For the purpose of this explanation, I'll call the mechanism that converts the energy for us a **gate**. A goddess can use or rather, convert, 80% of the share energy the sharicite provides A candidate has only access to 30%. Now, you'd think that they would be so much weaker than goddesses, right? But most of the extra energy that goddesses have access to is used to provide the much needed divine protection. They also have more powerful regenerative abilities."

"What about oracles?"

"It varies. Right here, right now, I could use a full 100%. But oracles were not originally part of the system. We work slightly different because of that. We're not as... efficient at converting as you are. To put this in numbers, we burn through the same amount of share energy four times as quickly. Back to the conversion. Only a goddess converts enough energy to actually survive the draining process for an extended amount of time. An oracle would burn out a sharicite and a candidate would just die without providing anything significant."

"So there is no way to artificially alter the rate of conversion in a candidate or goddess?" Vert was intrigued by this. She had never thought that deeply about how goddesses and share energy worked. She simply accepted it as is.

"Not without potentially making the entire world explode on us. The goddess system governs the entire planet. We would need to intrude on Celestia and mess with way too many things. And Celestia is an one-way ticket. New goddesses are born there and they can leave but nobody ever gets in." Chika looked over her shoulder. "Are you falling asleep yet?"

"Don't be silly, Chika. This is really interesting. So, during the inauguration, what changes that makes a candidate a full goddess?" Vert put the comb away, backed away and pulled Chika slowly down, giving the oracle a lap pillow.

"It's difficult to explain. Part of us is part of the system. It's not too crazy too say we're small part data. That part is entirely rewritten during the process. It handles everything related to the share energy we're using. It's a difficult subject and even we oracles don't know how exactly the data is rewritten but it takes a very long time to do properly. To sum it all up, it's out of our hands."

"I want to stick you into a lab coat and put some glasses on you. Maybe make you smell like laboratory." Moving her fingers over Chika's lips, Vert smiled.

"Pervert. Anyway, anything else you wanna ask while I'm in full nerd mode? I might throw up numbers and formulas if this keeps up though."

"Yellow Heart doesn't run a nation, so how does she get share energy?" Vert had always been curious about that.

Chika scratched her ear. "Difficult to say. I know that before we oracles and sharicite came around, goddesses and candidates got their power directly from the piety of the people. In a way, this is was is still happening Shares are just that. A percentage of how much of the gross energy source, human's faith, belongs to who. The sharicite just acts like a input and output regulator. Before they existed, faith directly went to the goddesses. If you compare share energy and faith energy, the former is basically like a nutrient injection while the latter is normal eating. Share energy is refined, concentrated and more efficient. I suspect that in a few thousand years, sharicite will become obsolete and a new method will be invented."

"Yellow Heart. Stay on target, Chika."

"Right. You see, a goddess consumes incredible amounts of energy because they provide divine protection for massive landmasses. Remember how I said that candidates only use 30% and goddess 80% but that goddesses use most of the difference for divine protection? Yellow Heart doesn't provide divine protection for anyone. Civilization developed in the direction of people amassing in settlements and that required something like the sharicite, eventually, to handle protection and energy regulation. But a goddess doesn't require enormous amounts of energy to just life and access her powers. People were originally nomadic, so there was never a requirement for a goddess to be settled in a specific land."

"Chika. You lost me."

"I'm sorry. What I'm saying is that Yellow Heart might have a small following all over the world. The sharicite counts are not perfect. Their 100% is 100% of the people that believe in the four goddesses. That means there could be who knows how many people actually believing in Yellow Heart. Or any number of other goddesses."

"Okay, enough nerd talk." Vert held back her own hair, bent forward and kissed Chika. "I can only take so many crazy revelations a day."

"I'd love to spend the night with you, Vert, but I have two important things to do first." Chika looked disappointed but got slowly up, taking her ribbon before she got off the bed.

"Dinner and shower? I'll join you." Vert grinned. "For both."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Jumping at her goddess, Chika passionately kissed her.

=== OVERHEAT ===

The way to the surface had been much longer than she had expected. A series of tunnels ending in another tunnel and another and so forth. She had been moving at a decent speed for close to five hours now. Carrying the sphere in her jacket, IF was worried. She had one day, not a second longer, for leaving Pyraba, executing her mission and getting back. If she failed, the runes inscribed on her skin would literally pulverize her on the spot when the clock ticked over.

There was no time to run around and look for a way to remove them. It was too big a gamble. And Noire had asked her for a favor. In her other pocket was a letter, addressed to Uni. She would need to send that on the way, somehow. Planeptune and Lastation bordered the central wasteland, which was filled to the brim with powerful monsters nowadays, and traversing between the nations was dangerous.

There was one other trigger that could set off the magic trap that would instantly kill her. Violating the gag order. Revealing the existence of Pyraba or revealing her mission both counted for that.

Finally reaching the surface, IF needed a few moments to adjust to the cold air that was blowing through the night. The moon was hidden beyond the clouds and trees surrounded her, the sound of water gurgling nearby. She had emerged in a forest. According to what Magic had told her, she was just slightly east of Planeptune's capital city. Jumping up a tree, reaching the top, she checked in every direction and found Planeptune's skyline to her right.

Heading towards the city on foot, she really wished she had her motorcycle right now. But that was too much to ask for. She would need to take the same route back so she memorize the part of the forest she passed through, leaving carvings in the tree with a set of knives she owned as she passed through. She couldn't afford to take it slow. If she kept running and only took breaks when she couldn't go on, there was no danger to her life. If she tried something funny however...

"I wonder what the situation is like up here." She planned to steal a newspaper, and hopefully a few old ones, if she got the chance. Noire had been in Pyraba for a while now, and she hadn't seen the surface in weeks. Breathing fresh air and feeling the wind on her face was very refreshing though. Hopefully she would be able to catch some sunlight before she had to go back. She didn't want to end up like Magic, even though her pale skin very much suited her.

The lights of the distant Planeptune were shining brightly in the dark night and IF openly longed to stay there, even if it had turned in the worst country on the planet. Pyraba was just not a place she liked or could get used to with all the deceit, lies and betraying that was on the daily order.

=== OVERHEAT ===

"I'm bored..." Capcom was laying in bed, Tekken by her side, exhausted from _servicing_ Capcom for basically the entire day. No jobs were coming in, at all, and no battles were happening either. It was Capcom's worst nightmare. Sex with Tekken was a pretty good distraction but she could only do it so many times before her whole body was starting to hurt. "Wanna go and get a drink down in the bar?"

They were in a big inn, the biggest in all of Atelier, and wasting their time away. Tekken had given up on following their prisoners and Capcom had **thoroughly** punished her for that. That job was over and done with now, and Capcom didn't feel like searching the entire world for those two. They could be goddess knows where at that point.

"Can I dress first?" Tekken was feeling a bit dizzy. She was quite receptive to Capcom's _punishment_ but doing it for a full day was way beyond her stamina.

Burying her hand in Tekken's hair and pulling her close, Capcom looked slightly pissed off. "Go get dressed already. Nobody but me is allowed to see you naked."

Watching the naked Tekken scurry around and pick up her clothes, Capcom wondered how long the girl was going to be with her. It was a dangerous business and she had a track record of losing partners. After the fifth, it had stopped really affecting her emotionally, but she liked Tekken. She was pretty, liked to be the target of Capcom's sadistic tendencies, specialized in the style of combat Capcom was weakest at and for the most part, very obedient. "Throw my clothes over while you're at it." She liked bossing Tekken around and whether she admitted it or not, Tekken liked to be bossed around, too.

A good ten minutes later, both of them had gone downstairs and taken a table, with large mugs of beverages standing before them. Capcom was a heavy drinker, Tekken, not so much. She always complained that it dulled her reflexes but the chances of having to go into combat in this place were to astronomically low that Capcom didn't even bother thinking about it.

"Maybe we'll go south-east next. I want to see what Lastation is doing. I hope a job comes in soon, I'm dying of boredom." Emptying her mug, Capcom never got to place it on the ground. By pure coincidence, she looked to the entrance when she heard the door open. She had seen Tekken's face all day, so even new guests were more interesting than her right now.

And lo and behold, one of her escapees was just casually strolling into the inn. It would be midnight in about two hours, too, and only drunkards or really bored people came to drink at this time of the night. Pinching Tekken's arm, she got her attention. "Look to the entrance and try not to attract the whole damn tavern to what you're doing."

Tekken almost dropped her mug. She hadn't expected to see the blue haired girl again, possibly ever and certainly not this soon. Trying to jump up, Capcom hit her on the head and pushed her back into her seat. "What are you doing?"

"Shouldn't we capture her?" Tekken was completely confused now. She had finally a chance to rectify her mistake.

"Why? It's not a job anymore. And making a fuss with all these people around? Are you stupid?" Hitting Tekken's face, Capcom clicked her tongue. "Stop looking so happy when I hit you, you masochist freak." Cursing, it only made Tekken even happier. "See that woman with monster tits and orange hair next to her? That's an old friend of mine. We go **way** back. She'd wipe the floor with you in a minute. Wait here."

Getting up, Capcom approached her old friend from behind. "How long has it been, Marvel?" She was a handful centimeters taller than Marvel and her boots elevated that to a good ten.

Nisa recognized the voice and immediately launched a powerful punch towards the source of the voice. Within a second, her world was turned upside down and she was looking up at Marvel, who had thrown her on the ground.

"She was the target of a job a few days ago. But that job is over, so I have no reason to target her anymore." Looking down at Nisa, Capcom grabbed a filled mug from the counter and poured it over Nisa. "Cool your head. I work for money. Grudges and revenge don't pay for food and good company." Putting ten thousand credits on the counter, Capcom nodded to the barkeep. "Sorry about that. My treat, Marvel. What brings you here?" Taking the orange haired girl back to the table Tekken was impatiently waiting at, she chopped the girl on the head. "Don't get any funny ideas."

Nisa, after getting a towel from the barkeep, joined the group. She and the black haired martial arts artist kept glaring at each other while Marvel was catching up with her old friend. "What are **you** doing in Atelier? Last place I'd expect to find you, you damn bloodhound."

"Look who is talking, damn pacifist!"

Both of them glared at each other for a second before bursting out in laughter. "It's been two years, hasn't it?" Capcom tried to recall the last time they had seen each other. "You were hired by the Lastation Basilicom to play bodyguard for one of the government farts and I was hired to take out any dangerous individuals."

"Oh, I remember that. You were wearing that outrageous outfit." Marvel almost laughed again. A barmaid brought four new mugs of beverages for the table at the same time. Gulping down half of it, Marvel really enjoyed a good drink.

"I don't want to hear that from someone like you!" Reaching out and groping Marvel's breasts, Capcom didn't produce as much as the tiniest moan from her friend. "You might as well walk around in a bikini!"

"At least mine aren't poking through skin-tight latex or whatever this is!" Roughly returning the favor for a second, Marvel and Capcom both clinked mugs and emptied them in one go afterward. "So what are you doing here?"

"Nothing. That's the problem. The war has gone into this bizarre stalemate out of nowhere and I'm not getting any work." Sighing, she really wanted to have a challenge.

"You're sitting on millions of credits, aren't you? Why work so much?" She had asked the same question more than a dozen times over the last few years. Capcom was a lot older than her, almost thirty now, but she had known her ever since she started doing missions. Capcom had also been the one to cheer her up when she had lost her unit.

"One point five billion credits to be exact. More than I could ever spend, really. And you asked me this so many times, you know the answer." Holding up her hand, Capcom called the barmaid over, asking her to keep an eye on the table and refill whenever needed.

"Workaholic!"

"Missionary!"

Tekken couldn't understand how someone that was basically her own age could talk like that to Capcom and get away with it. Eying Nisa from the side, the blue girl was extremely reluctantly looking at her drink.

"So what are you doing here? With her, of all things." Pointing to Nisa, Capcom stole her mug and emptied it herself. "If you're not drinking, order something to eat. And stop it with that face you're making. I'm not gonna shoot you."

"I put together a resistance to end the war. If you have nothing better to do, you should join me." Lowering her voice so much that even Nisa and Tekken couldn't hear, Marvel bent forward and whispered in Capcom's ear. "There will be a big battle going down in Planeptune in the near future. Civil war. We're gonna need all the help we can get. How about it?"

Shaking her head, Capcom shrugged. "Why even ask me, Marvel? You know that's not the kind of thing I do."

"Worth a try. If you change your mind, meet us at Totori Tools before sunset tomorrow. I'll be in town until then, but I'll be busy." Marvel really would have liked to have Capcom on her side. If going by pure battle strength, she was exceptional. Her cunning and wit were great too. Her sadistic streak, obsession with money, lack of morals and various other issues made her a very much double-edged sword, but it couldn't be helped.

"Anyone else I know in that resistance of yours? Did she," Capcom pointed at Nisa. "come with a redhead attached to her?"

"Wasn't you who was chasing them into our arms, was it?" Marvel wanted to know how much Capcom knew.

"Always prying. I was out on a job and Tekken, that useless dumbass, let them get away. Instead of sitting in a damn cave, I decided to stay here for the time being." Kicking Tekken's leg under the table, Capcom was annoyed that the girl flinched but still looked very happy. "And I'll ask again. Anyone else in that resistance of yours that I know?"

"Nobody. Most people you **know** are now buried anyway." Marvel's pun made Capcom groan in agony. "Oh come on, it wasn't **that** bad!"

"Your jokes are as bad as I am deadly! Or rather, your jokes are as deadly as I am!"

"Boss, what's your relationship to her?" Tekken was getting jealous of how close Marvel was to her mistress.

"Sometimes enemies, sometimes allies and sometimes we're just acquaintances, like right now." Slapping her on the head, Capcom growled. "And just in case your perverted, dirty mind is thinking that, I'm not sleeping with her."

"Not anymore. You're too rough for my tastes." Marvel stabbed Capcom in the back with her words. "The last time was right after I lost my squad. Been a while since then."

Capcom almost called her a traitor but changed her mind at the last moment. "You going to stay here for the night?"

"Maybe. I'm meeting someone at midnight but don't you follow me. You're just gonna spook them."

"Trying to bring the merchants on your side? Not a bad move. But I can't see it working. The town is occupied by Lowee but the people here don't care at all." Emptying her fifth mug, Capcom looked at Tekken and Nisa compete over who could finish the meat dish they had ordered first. At least the girl wasn't doing anything stupid.

"It's all about potential profit. And Planeptune has completely gone off all moral tracks. You know what they did to the capital city of this nation. We're trying to stop the war, but to do that, we need to stop Planeptune first."

"I'd be on board for assassinating Purple Heart. Now that would be a challenge." Capcom was mostly joking.

"It could turn into that, but we're just trying to remove her from power. Purple Sister is going to rule Planeptune in her place if we succeed and she'll stop any further atrocities from happening." Marvel put down her mug and slowly got up. "Totori Tools, sunset, tomorrow. Nisa, finish up, we should show up early."

"Don't get yourself killed, Marvel." Capcom didn't bother to get up at all.

"I told you a thousand times to call me Marvey." The leader of GAME had always been annoyed by Capcom's refusal to call her what all her other friends called her.

Unable to wolf down the rest of her meal, Nisa just left, uncomfortable with sitting at the table without Marvel there. Following the orange haired girl, both of them left the bar, leaving behind the bounty hunter slash mercenary and her apprentice.

"How do you know them? They kept me and Cave prisoner!"

"She is paid to do all kinds of things. Murder, kidnapping, terrorism even. She's only _evil_ if you're on the other side. If she's on yours, you couldn't wish for more competent allies. Can't vouch for the black haired girl, though, that's new." Heading down the street, Marvel needed a moment to orientate herself. It had been a while since she had been to Atelier and there were a lot of new buildings and the locations of shops had changed quite a bit.

"Who are we going to meet?"

"A cutthroat of a merchant called Gust. Don't let her kiddy appearance fool you. She's got more smarts in that tiny head of hers than most adult merchants I know." Convincing Gust was the requirement for even talking to the other merchants. There was no official hierarchy between merchants but Gust was seen as one of the most shrewd and cunning merchants. Convincing her would serve as a great point to convince others."

"Why this late at night?" Nisa walked to the right of Marvel, constantly looking over her own shoulder, worried that Capcom might be following them.

"She is really cautious. We're not even meeting her directly, we're going to meet with someone called Compa that will take us to her once we're sure that nobody is trailing us."

"Still, why this late?"

"It's harder to follow someone when its dark and especially in this village, it's much easier to stay hidden this time of day, when most shops are closed and there isn't much business going on." Turning around another corner, Marvel grabbed Nisa, jumped on top of a barrel, another barrel and on the roof of a small house, pushing Nisa into the snow and throwing herself flat on the roof as well. Waiting for a good minute without making a single sound, Marvel deemed it safe. She trusted Capcom to not follow her, but not that she kept her mouth shut.

Jumping down and leaving deep imprints in the snow, Marvel caught Nisa, who slipped on the roof and came falling down. "Be careful. Down that street is a small bar. We're supposed to meet the girl called Compa there." She had a detailed description of the girl.

Even before they had made it all the way to Atelier, the Planeptune resistance had contacted her, telling them that there has been message, from an unknown source, from Atelier for them. In some way or another, Gust had caught wind of her intentions and arranged for a meeting.

"I hope this goes well."

=== END OF LINE ===


End file.
